I left for two weeks, with a key and notes left to a friend on what to do with my plants in my absence. Two weeks later I return (my friend had completely spaced out and forgot to come over even once) and my herbs (thyme, basil) are completely dead, but everything else was perfectly fine.

Interestingly, on my trip away I bumped into a person who does professional plant tending for public buildings, or businesses that want plants but can’t trust themselves to take care of them, and we had a brief chat. She said the number one mistake people make with plants is overwatering them.