To test the liquid, he placed a drop in the soil of a dying flower growing in a pot in the room.
VOA: special.2009.09.26
Porter gives several (non-silicon) examples, including the wine-growing industry in northern California and the flower-growing business in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands would not be the natural first choice for anyone starting a flower-growing business today were it not for the fact that the business is already there.
There are herbs growing in flower boxes at the bus stop, raspberry canes on waste land, cabbages in the flower beds at the local park - and even beans between the graves in the local cemetery.