Seemingly oblivious to the ongoing debate about the best way to clean up the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, an urban garden is thriving near the notoriously toxic site. It's the subject of a quirky profile in the New York Times.

"Seeing cottage flowers growing in front of graffiti is such a strange juxtaposition ....They're grown from seed. They're opportunistic. It's an insurrection on the sidewalk," one person was quoted commenting about the sunflower-filled plot.