My middle name may as well be "herbicide", because, well, I kill plants. The ones I want as well as the ones I don't want. I don't have a green thumb - mine is BLACK. Plants have died in my presence just in anticipation of the haphazard & uneducated watering schedule that was soon to come. They must have thought "let's just bite the bullet and get this over with instead of suffering through weeks with this amateur."
My solution is to stock up on Jade plants. You could not kill those fuckers if you try. I've skipped town for weeks at a time with no watering provisions and came back to thriving Jade plants. They have them in droves, and the only reason this place doesn't get five stars is because it's kinda spendy.
East End Garden is a huge nursery with all sorts of year-round plants available - it spans two houses across and sprawls all over the sidewalk. The people who work there are nice enough, if a little "Deliverance"-esque, and you should know that there are two resident cats that hang out near the cash (it's a wonder they don't chew on the plants - they actually show no interest in them at all), so if you're allergic to felines, stay away.