Burpee Home Gardens visited Baltimore, Md., on May 11 to deliver the grand-prize vegetable garden to Eleanor Justice, the essay winner of Burpee's “Dream a Little Green” contest. Out of dozens of entries, Eleanor was the deserving recipient of nearly $1,000 of vegetable and herb plants, raised containers, planting materials and more! Her winning essay was a tribute to her neighbor, Mr. Leroy, whom she called the “gardening whiz”. He inspired the community to bring greenery and gardens to their urban dwellings.

“Mr. Leroy turned the once-paved back lot of his home and an unused patch of ground in the alley into a verdant kitchen garden where he admirably grew the lion's share of his own food,” Eleanor wrote in her essay. When he recently passed away from cancer, the green seemed to go with him. But with her newly planted vegetable and herb containers and the help of Burpee Home Gardens, Eleanor is sure the inspiration to garden can return to her community.

“Eleanor has a passion, and she has taken up the torch in her community to inspire others to try vegetable gardening. Burpee Home Gardens is happy to be a part of new beginnings for her and her Baltimore neighbors,” said Jessie Atchison, brand manager for Burpee Home Gardens.

Congratulations, Eleanor! As she put it, now her garden is “one more patch of green in a neighborhood that’s in need of green.”

During Burpee’s visit, a local CBS news crew was on-hand to film the event. See the video here.