Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. This well-worn proverb tells of the peril of casting criticism from a position of vulnerability. However, there are a number of examples in the natural world where the incorporation of glass (silica or silicon dioxide to be more precise) into the structural make-up of an organism can greatly increase its resilience. Perhaps the best example of this are the diatoms, a hugely successful lineage of microalgae that generate approximately 20% of the oxygen we breathe each year, and encase themselves in an intricate cell wall composed almost entirely of silica. Higher plants too can benefit from this protective cladding, as silica deposited in the tissues of a wide variety of plants has been linked to enhanced resistance to bacterial and fungal infection, as well as increased tolerance to abiotic stresses such as metal toxicity and drought. In this issue of Physiologia Plantarum, Vandegeer et al. (2021) investigated the mechanisms by which silicon deposited in the cells of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) altered the physiology of water transport, revealing applications for enhancing drought tolerance in this economically important pasture grass species. In environments where water scarcity is common place, a plant's physiology is calibrated to optimise water-use efficiency while maintaining growth and reproduction. This is no mean-feat, given that so much of a plant's physiology depends on the near constant migration of water from its point of entry in the roots to the primary site of photosynthesis in the leaves. In addition to water, photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide (CO2) as a substrate, which enters the leaf via a network of tiny pores on the leaf surface, known as stomata. Stomata represent tiny cracks in the armour of an otherwise water-tight leaf and are one of the primary ways a plant loses water to its surroundings, in a process called transpiration. To combat this, stomata are flanked by highly specialised cells known as guard cells, which swell or deflate to regulate the degree of stomatal opening. Due to their vital role as gatekeepers, guard cells are at the confluence of many competing signals—both internal and external—which fine-tune their functioning to optimise the complex biochemical needs of the leaf. Previous studies have demonstrated silicon's role in enhancing a plants tolerance to drought (Debona et al., 2017); however, the mechanisms underpinning these observations are still largely unexplored. As the frequency and range of droughts increases due to climate change, our reliance on staple crops will come under intense pressure, forcing the adoption of stress-tolerant alternative species or new infrastructure and management practices to enhance the tolerance of pre-existing crops. Although silicon is the second most abundant element on the Earth's crust, only a small proportion of it is bioavailable, as it readily forms into insoluble complexes in acidic soils and is susceptible to leeching in areas prone to high rainfall. Additionally, as silicon is taken up by plants and sequestered in their leaves, recurring harvests progressively remove silicon from agricultural land. Thus, strategies to optimise a crop's access to silicon represent an attractive prospect in boosting their environmental resilience. This could take the form of supplementing agricultural soils with bioavailable silicon, to genetic approaches that increase the silicon import and accumulation potential of susceptible crop species.