Pothole corn, anyone?

Some Gatineau residents are taking advantage of a missing chunk of concrete on Saint Francois Street to make an unlikely garden.

"It's about five inches deep, just on the side of the sidewalk, so cars usually don’t run in it," said Stephane Vigneault, who said he and a neighbour decided to make use of the pothole while gardening last year.

He said the mini-garden, which holds corn, lilies and geraniums, is like his baby. He even protects it from street sweepers.

"[I] took my car, parked it just next to it so the machine had to go around," he said.

"I won't always be there to save it, so it's probably going to be destroyed at some point."

Artistic, not political

Passerby Linda Veillette said she doesn’t think it’s a good idea because asphalt should be in its place.

Others said the green patch sends a good message to the city.

"It's really cool, a nice message they send to the municipality; do something about it because we can grow flowers in the holes," said Allyson Poole, who added she wouldn't be sampling any of its corn.

But Vigneault said the point is to make the community more beautiful.

"We didn't want the city to fix it, of course not," he said. "It's really nice."