Cloche...French for glass domes

Cloche.......The French developed the cloche, or bell jar, formed of a solid piece of glass shaped like a dome.  The purpose was to protect an early garden plant from bleak cold and frost.
My memory of a cloche was from my Mom....she wore cloches....not glass domes but hats.  A cloche hat was a snug fillting hat, shaped like a dome. They were mostly made of felt, like the one below.

These are the sweet memories I have of my Mom.  Hats, sweet smelling cologne, chintze and toile fabrics.  She was always decorating and moving  her furniture around every week.  I'll talk about Great Gamma in another entry....quite a woman, I sure do miss her.

What I want to talk about is the glass cloches. I Love them.  I Love to decorate with them, display them, fill them, and mosly just look at them and smile.

                                       
                                                     Display seashells...........

                                                    Photographs.........
                                                 

                                                 Scales and tinware.............

                                               

                                               Plants and figurines...............

                                                even bulbs............

                               
                                                 Antique pieces and collectibles.........


I could go on and on.  There are a lot of reproductions of cloches you could find at Marshalls, Home Goods, T J Maxx and Michaels.  The original cloches are very thin glass and quite hard to come by, and very expensive. You can display them as a centerpiece on your table, in your living room, in your bedroom  on your dresser, or in your garden room.  If you want you can put them in the garden for decoration, or use them for their original intention and put them over plants, when there is a threat of frost.  Have fun with your cloches and we would gladly welcome some of your ideas with your  bell jars........