Beth7happy, I don't know about butterflies but I know it grows well under oak trees or in full sun. Wedelia can be a wonderful replacement for grass but it also is quick to get out of control. My parents planted it under a large oak at the end of an azalea bed and for a few years it was fine. But the bed was supposed to be a minimum upkeep bed so my parents didn't go over there much. Now the wedelia is taking over the azaleas and even climbing them. I personlly wouldn't advise planting it anywhere that it is not completely contained by concrete.

What a horror story! I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. First, there is one thing they may have legal grounds for, and that is restricting how much your boyfriend can be at the apartment. Check your lease. Many leases have a clause about visitors and how long they can stay. If your lease has such a clause, then you do have to limit the number of days per month your BF is there. Or you can have him added to the lease. However, unless there is language in the lease that specifically states that guests must be accompanied at all times, he should be able to stay in your apartment without you. So you really need to read your lease carefully. And google "Maryland landlord tenant law" to find out more about the laws where you live. In most states, state law trumps the lease. So even if there is a clause in the lease, if state law says otherwise, you don't have to follow that clause. So know the lease and know the laws, so you know what your rights are. Then start to document every single little thing that happens. Every interaction with the downstairs neighbors--every time they yell at you and what they say, every time they pound on their ceiling, everything that you can clearly trace to them (so not the disappearing laundry supplies, for example). And document every interaction you have with the office. Whenever they call with another neighbor complaint, make sure they tell you the exact day and time that the supposed noise occurred, so you can write this down. Also, if you can prove that the apartment was empty at that time, put the proof down. I'd go so far as to copy a time card from work, or have a toll receipt or a receipt for a cup of coffee, a copy of your work schedule. Anything that can prove the apartment was empty. Do you have a designated parking spot and can this be seen from your apartment? If so, get a small video camera and point it out the window. Then maybe you can capture the person writing on your car on camera. Call the local police on their non-emergency phone number and tell them that you have neighbors who are screaming obscenities at you as you enter and leave your apartment. You also suspect they are writing on your car and stealing your things from the common laundry room. You are afraid they might escalate from there. What should you do to protect yourself? Write down what they tell you. Take notes for two weeks. During those two weeks, obey the rules to the letter--boyfriend only over when you are there, tip toeing around, being as quiet as possible. Then request a meeting with the highest ranking management person you can find. Bring all your documentation and proof. Tell Management that you are tired of being harassed. And use that word--harassed. You have been contacted X times by the neighbors and Y times by management in 2 weeks and it has to stop. List everything you have done to reduce the noise coming from your apartment. Point out that it is above and beyond what the lease requires. You are not going to listen to the neighbors or management about noise issues again, unless there has been an actual violation of the lease. You will now be calling the police if the neighbors scream at you again. You are tired of being harassed like this. Since management hasn't been able to do anything, you are being forced to take the next step. You have consulted a lawyer about the continued harassment from both management and the neighbors. You do not wish to proceed to legal methods, but given the seriousness of their actions towards you, that is the next logical step. Point out that you are not in violation of any of the clauses in the lease. You are willing to add additional noise reduction to your apartment, if you are told of specific things that would definitely (not "might") help your neighbors. You are willing to be a good neighbor and a good tenant. But you are not willing to be harassed on a daily basis where you live. I think these people are taking advantage of the fact that you are a young single woman in her 20s. You have probably been very accommodating and polite, so they think they can walk all over you. I think it's time to stop re-acting to them and become more pro-active. As long as you aren't violating the lease, you should be standing up for yourself. Oh, and buy a chain door guard and use it whenever you are in your apartment. That will stop the management from entering while you are in there. Can't stop them from coming in when you aren't there, but at least they won't be able to surprise you when you are sleeping or showering.

Started stripping in December of 2004,two 30 yard (BIG) construction dumpsters and 14 days straight with a sledge hammer and my favorite (YEP) pry bar, we were ready to START our remodel. All new drywall and insulation. Rewired almost everything, removed 2 closets and 2 windows to reconfigure 2 bedrooms to end up with walk in closets in both. Removed wall between bathrooms to make master bath larger.EVERTHING in 2 baths new including all plumbing.Solid concrete slabs down here to bust up to redo octopuss of plumbing to rerout it all.Repoured concrete floors when done.ALL windows and 2-12ft,2-8ft and 1-6ft sliders replaced.Front door and laundry room doors replaced and had to make the opening for laundry room door bigger,can we say more of the old sledge hammer through solid old hard concrete!ALL new lighting throughout as well as paddle fans replaced.Every light switch and electric outlet as well as their covers replaced.New Cabinets(NIGHTMARE ON PRIMA VISTA)and THEN we hire someone to remarcite our pool and they POPPED it 3 ft out of the ground and destroyed it and the entire patio and screen room,you would not believe the pictures if I could figure out how I would post a few!We have just paid $10,500.00 to have it taken out and have hired an Att. to sue their Ins co. as they want to pay me $34,000.00 an amount that will not even pay for another pool let alone take the old one out, pour a new patio and the screen room alone is $17,000.00.So that has been an ongoing nightmare.All new flooring and then painted most of interior.Have'nt gotten all the wallpaper up yet.Trim still needs to be caulked Then painted and the gameroom ceiling still needs drywall and the drywall in the cabanna room(used to be) and laundry still needs to be finished.The tile in both showers still needs to be done AND the stucco on the outside still has to be fixed from installing all the new windows and doors and THEN the outside painting can begin!OH YEA they still have to form and pour the new patio(minus my pool)and pour the new driveway that the tree took out when it blew over in hurricain Francis.Then the landscape lighting and plants can go back in. ANYBODY WANT TO TAKE A "FREE" VACATION IN SUNNY(HA) FLORIDA THIS WINTER!! OVERWELMED? I CAN STILL LAUGH!!! I hope this puts it in perspective for you, as someone else said somebody always has a story worse than ours. OH YEA did I mention the new security system that they got the dates messed up and hooked it up on MONDAY when it was supposed to be hooked up on FRIDAY? We were robbed on Saturday night!!! NO KIDDING!! BUT my to do list is shorter than my GOT ER DONE list!!! Oh well I live in the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE and I can get on here and get it all off my chest and fell better (HA!) about it all tomorrow when they start forming my new patio(NO POOL) and driveway. Did I mention NO Pool? OH WELL I will jump in the brook behind our house in Vermont(if I ever get there!!!)

The cap is a bowl, the base is a plastic cup. I filled them both with concrete, stuck a piece of rebar in the cup (to make a stake) and let them cure. The base is painted then sealed with a spray sealer. When I'd finished both, I used Gorilla Glue to glue the two pieces together. I had fun last night looking for more bowl/cup combinations that would make cute mushrooms, and the small size makes them good for experimenting with concrete. I'm thinking about trying some different techniques, like maybe a colorful aggregate or reverse mosaic on the cap. I'm also intending to play with some concrete formulas that include perlite to lighten them up a little. I would love to send some as gifts to relatives, but the weight makes shipping expensive. Why do I get the feeling somewhere down the line people are going to start calling me the mushroom lady? LOL