A cloche is a bell-shaped glass cover placed over young plants to protect them from frost, wind and pests while trapping warmth and moisture. The word is French for bell, and the term is also used for smaller glass domes used to display objects or cover food.
Glass cloches became an essential tool of market gardening in nineteenth-century France, where growers around Paris used them in long rows to force salad crops and vegetables, and they were widely adopted in British kitchen gardens. Early examples were hand-blown in thick greenish glass, often with a solid glass knob on top for lifting, and show bubbles, seeds and slight irregularities that betray their age. Victorian gardeners also used lantern cloches, built from panes of glass set in lead, zinc or iron frames, sometimes with a hinged or removable top for ventilation. Today antique cloches are sought for their decorative qualities as much as their practical use, appearing in conservatories, on garden tables and indoors as covers for plants, shells or curiosities. Look for natural wear to the rim and an even, unrepaired surface, and be aware that many modern reproductions are now made.
