God didn’t just give us all the tools we need to grow plants. He gave us something else too: inventiveness. As long as we make sure plants have what they need to survive, we can use our heads to make them grow in the wildest and wackiest ways!

Imagine a garden like this. Rows and rows of plastic pipes lay flat on tables. The pipes have small holes in them. A single plant pokes out of each hole. A mineral solution (water plus nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and others) flows through the pipes, feeding the plants. This kind of gardening is called hydroponics. That word combines two old, Greek words: hydro (water) and ponos (labor). It means what it says: The water does the work.

You might notice that one of God’s tools for growth is missing: soil. Gardeners use other things to make up for that. Sometimes they add substances like shale to support the plant’s roots. The plants’ nutrition comes mostly from their water. That means these plants don’t need soil at all.

Hydroponics comes in handy in cities or in places without good soil (like outer space!). Hydroponic gardens can grow indoors. In fact, you can plant your own using a few glass bottles with corks, some water, plants, and plant food. Your garden should thrive all winter long, soil-free.

People don’t just grow plants in wild ways, though. They also grow them in wild places. For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, workers covered the whole floor of England’s York Minister Cathedral with growing grass. Priests had to keep mowing the church floor! Others have learned to plant grass on their cars. Some even design clothes made out of grass. As the grass grows, the garments keep changing shape. It has also become popular to grow vegetables upside-down. Upside-down tomatoes save ground space, have better protection from pests, and mean less weeding for the gardener. People have been planting goofy gardens for years. No wonder veggies have made it all the way to space!