Just some info about how I make the teacup feeders. I don't use them as birdfeeders but use the clear glass teacups and saucers and put a tealight in them for around the patio. Look very nice at night with the candle glowing. Anyhow we use 2 part clear epoxy to glue the cup to the saucer, then glue a copper end fitting to the bottom center of the saucer. The copper pipe then fits into the end fitting and isn't glued, just a friction fit. The pipe can be removed for winter storage. If the cup and saucer needs washing I can easily remove it. We've made and sold many dozens of these. They cost less than $2 each and sold for $8. Most of the cost was for the copper pipe. Only took a few minutes to make a bunch assembly-style so it wasn't bad profit. I've heard of people selling them for $25 but I think that would have to be in a really high-end shop. The ones I have for my garden use rebar cause the price of copper went way up a couple of years ago. I have a few but haven't put them out yet - I'll try to remember to post a pic later. I'm really busy trying to get on top of this gardening so not spending a lot of time on the net.

Been there...done that. I don't bother thinning. My butterfly bush & foxglove jugs looked like Chia pets. I planted them out HOS and let the strongest survive. Last year was my first to winter sow. I went so far over the top, I could see Russia from my porch. I counted 486 milk jugs before calling it quits in April. Thanks to the generosity of the folks on this forum, I had enough seeds to WS three times that many but thankfully ran out of both time and growers mix at about the same time. When planting out time arrived my flowerbeds were still under construction so most of my sprouts got potted up and given away to skeptical neighbors and friends. I just divided the clumps of seedlings as best I could and stuck them in gallon pots. Some I stuck the entire clump in a hole and let Mother Nature do the thinning. The fact they're all coming up again this year, lush & healthy looking, is a little bit of luck and a huge dollop of Trudi's amazing method. You aren't doomed and you don't have to choose which sprouts grow up and which end up in that great sprout nursery bed in the sky. Keep in mind if those seeds had fallen on the dirt the parent plant was growing in, they'd have had a slim-to-none chance of even germinating. Good luck, take lots of pictures and keep us posted on how things do in your half-baked lasagna beds.

Here is a recipe for Pavlova from a former neighbor who lived in New Zealand for several years. It is delicious and impressive! Pavlova from MaDonna Hartley by way of New Zealand 5 egg whites 2 TB sugar 1/4 t. vanilla 3/4 cup powdered sugar scant 1/2 cup cornstarch Filling 1 1/2 c. whipping cream 1/4 c. powdered sugar plus 2 TB 2 cups fresh fruit 1 TB cherry brandy Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9-10-inch circle in the center of the paper. Preheat oven to 225F. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 TB sugar and the vanilla. Sprinkle 3/4 c. sugar and the powdered sugar over the egg whites and beat until dissolved. Sift cornstarch over the top and fold in by hand. Spoon meringue into a pastry bag and pipe onto the drawn circle (or simply spread onto the circle). Using a large #10 tip, pipe a spiral to fill inside of circle. Pipe small balls around the edge to make a raised side. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until firm. Puree 1 cup of the fruit in a blender or food processor. Pour into a bowl; stir in the 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Whip cream with 2 TB powdered sugar until stiff. Bold in the brandy. Spread the cream in the baked meringue shell. Arrange whole or sliced fruit on top. Spoon the pureed fruit over the whole fruit. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Serves 8-10.

It's not worth getting bogged down on words which may refer to many things. Pavlova, which comes from Colleen's part of the world, is usually classed as a type of meringue. When bakers say that, they're using the word meringue to refer to the whole class of sweetened whipped eggwhite confections. There are also at least three ways to make classic meringue: French, Italian and Swiss, which differ by which bits are heated when. The point for Cookie8's layers is that Pavlova is crisp on the outside and chewy inside, whereas, as Linda said, a lot of American pies and other desserts have a layer of French meringue which is often torched or baked high just to brown the top, but is soft and fluffy from the outside all the way through. Which is different from meringues, the piped or quenelled and baked until crisp all the way through "cookies".