Looking like a shock side-effect of global warming, the garden on the
Norwegian island of Spitsbergen is a defiant reminder of a warmer south
in an icy wilderness of polar bears, reindeer, seals and lichen.

"This is the first year we've tried growing sunflowers," Ms Iversen, a
56-year-old Norwegian said.

She works for King's Bay, the firm that manages the Ny Alesund
settlement, where 30 people live in winter and 130 in summer.

"They're doing very well."

She also has tomatoes, peas, parsley, rocket and cucumbers improbably
flourishing on a latitude north of Alaska, with snow on the ground
outside and reindeer wandering the streets.

Along with her plants, almost everything in Ny Alesund seems out of
place in one of Europe's most isolated communities. Originally built
around a coal mine, it is now on the front line of Arctic climate research.

We know the disadvantages but , what are some of the advantages of
growing vegetables in the cold climates?
Lack of pests come to mind.