Orange You Glad It's Spring?

ATLANTA, March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spring arrives today at 1:26 p.m. EST, and The Home Depot(R) is painting the town orange with a national countdown celebration and parade in Spring, Texas, where the Company will unveil and showcase its new products for the 2006 spring season.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO)

The festivities begin with a parade through Spring, Texas, featuring a marching band, lawn mowers, tractors, a synchronized "grill" team and reigning NASCAR champion Tony Stewart's #20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Olympic silver medalists, bobsledders Valerie Fleming and Shauna Rohbock, who work in the garden department at The Home Depot in Park City, Utah, will serve as the grand marshals. The parade will culminate with a countdown celebration and the lowering of a giant ball of 3,000 orange flowers, which will be broadcast live via satellite as the clock strikes 12:26 p.m. CST. The flowers represent the new flower variety, VIVA! SunPatiens, which is The Home Depot's "2006 official flower of spring."

"We felt that Spring, Texas, was the most appropriate destination to celebrate in a unique way the arrival of spring and all it has to offer," said Tom Taylor, executive vice president, Merchandising and Marketing for The Home Depot. "We are introducing several new, exciting products for spring - from tractors packed with great features to an affordable "built-in" outdoor kitchen island. The Home Depot offers the most innovative outdoor solutions at the best value for our customers."

America's Top Tractor Lineup

Tractors are part of American pop culture, and affluent homeowners are riding the wave. More than 850,000 households bought tractors in 2004 - a 70 percent increase over the 500,000 who made purchases in 1999, according to the National Gardening Association. Meeting this trend, The Home Depot offers the largest selection of national brands of lawn tractors, and it is the only home improvement retailer to offer tractors from John Deere, Cub Cadet and Toro.

John Deere, which The Home Depot has offered since 2003, will continue to be a key part of the tractor offerings, and customers will find lawn tractors from the popular L100 series. New to The Home Depot lineup this year, Cub Cadet is one of the fastest-growing brands of riding lawn mowers in the country and a leader in residential zero-turn-radius riding mowers, which is the fastest-growing lawn tractor segment. Zero-turn-radius mowers help users save time, as they have larger decks and can turn easily and maneuver in tight spaces. Rounding out the selection of lawn tractors available at The Home Depot, Toro has long been recognized as a market leader in walk-behind mowers, snow throwers, handheld outdoor power equipment, commercial cutting equipment and irrigation systems. This announcement signals Toro's strengthened commitment to the residential lawn tractor category and completes The Home Depot's exclusive offering of a full line of Toro products.

Lawn and Garden Necessities

According to the National Gardening Association, three out of four U.S. households participated in one or more types of indoor and outdoor do-it-yourself (DIY) lawn and garden activities last year. These avid DIYers will benefit from two new time savers from Vigoro. First, Vigoro introduces the first-ever combination of mulch with herbicide, which controls weeds for up to four months, saving homeowners from spreading two products instead of one. In addition, homeowners will save time from weeding later in the season. Second, the new Vigoro Smart Seeder will save homeowners time by combining seed and spreader in one lightweight, handheld device. This combination Smart Seeder retails for $9.98 and $10.98 for Tall Fescue and Sun & Shade, respectively.

This year, The Home Depot introduces a new selection of long-handled garden tools that will meet everyone's needs. The new Ridgid line includes a selection of the highest quality tools, from post hole diggers and round point shovels to mortar hoes and roofer spades. Designed with the professional in mind, Ridgid long-handled tools include a lifetime warranty. Vigoro tools offer features that homeowners will appreciate, including comfort grips and extended blade sockets, and the long-handled tools are backed by a 25-year warranty. A recognized brand in lawn and garden, Bronco rounds out the category with value-priced tools.

To complement a lush, green lawn, VIVA! introduces a new variety of flower -- SunPatiens, available in vibrant orange, white, purple and red and available exclusively at The Home Depot. The self-proclaimed "official flower of spring" is a revolutionary new, inter-specific impatiens that thrives in full sun and high heat conditions. They range in price from $4.99 to $7.99.

Once just a necessity to protect a yard from rain run-off, retaining walls now are a terrific way to add distinction and a point of interest to any yard. New this year, Pavestone Natural Impressions Retaining Wall offers the look of a natural stacked stone wall at a fraction of the price. Available in four colors, each block retails for $2.95 and measures 12 inches wide, 4 inches high and 8 inches deep. An easy do-it-yourself project, the stone blocks can be stacked up to 3 feet high to create a retaining wall, flowerbed or other decorative landscape feature.

Creating an Outdoor Oasis

Once the yard work is complete, homeowners can relax in their own backyard oasis. Americans are creating outdoor living rooms, decked out with luxurious -- yet affordable -- accessories, versus the plain and simple picnic tables of the past. Outdoor furniture lines, such as the newly expanded Hampton Bay(R) offering, now include coordinating swings, bars, beverage carts, chaise lounges and fire pits. One popular example is the Simone Collection, an earthtone, seven-piece set that coordinates with a sling chaise lounge, side table, serving cart and three-piece bar set. Homeowners can add a romantic glow to their patio with a Hampton Bay(TM) Solar Powered Patio Umbrella, which soaks up the sun during the day and lights up the night for four hours with 24 white LED lights. The antique beige, 9-foot umbrella is completely wireless, is easy to operate and costs $99.

Outdoor accessories such as rugs and pillows add a splash of color to any deck, patio or backyard. Throw pillows from Plantation Patterns are available in a variety of solid, striped and floral prints, and a 16-inch pillow costs $12.98 in store or $36 for a two-pack at homedepot.com. While they look luxurious enough to use indoors, these pillows are made from sun polyester, making them durable enough for outdoors.

What's the perfect outdoor oasis without cold drinks and grilled food? This spring, The Home Depot offers the ultimate in backyard dining, the Charmglow(R) Gourmet Series Grill Island Kitchen. The outdoor kitchen with a built-in look features weather-resistant walls made of fiberglass with an attractive stacked stone look and real granite countertops. The three-piece set includes a base unit with a 48,000 BTU grill and 585 square inches of cooking space, a 10,000 BTU rotisserie burner, a storage area, and a 12,000 BTU side burner ($1,588 delivered); a side island module with a slide-out trash can ($788 delivered); and a corner island with a stainless steel foot rest for bar seating ($688 delivered). The unit is available online at homedepot.com, and will be in select The Home Depot stores in May.

About The Home Depot

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2005 sales of $81.5 billion. The Company employs approximately 345,000 associates and has 2,055 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. Through its Home Depot Supply division, the Company operates one of the nation's largest diversified wholesale distributors, with operations in 41 states and Canada. The Home Depot has been recognized by FORTUNE magazine as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer and the No. 13 Most Admired Corporation in America for 2006. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. HDG