Eulogy for my dying flowers

The briefing

A columnist surveys a yard gone to seed in August, with dead begonias, sand-colored grass and wildflowers overtaking a marigold planter. Heat, smoke and a full-time work schedule during festival season meant the plants went willfully neglected until they were gasping. The column turns the failure into a lesson about owning mistakes rather than pretending the flowers are not dead, and resolves to plant less next year.