"The once great floating gardens of Mexico City, which filled the bellies of the Aztecs, are dying of serious neglect."

"On this point, everyone sadly agrees.

The ancient plots and their life-giving canals are weedy and abandoned, overrun by cattle, invaded by exotic fish, sucked dry by urban sprawl — and a dozen agencies of government have failed to save one of the wonders of the world.

A few farmers continue to till their little corners of Eden. They grow marigolds for El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead."

William Booth reports for the Washington Post March 7, 2012. [2]