Ok now tell us about the carriage.

don,

It stays in the carriage house beside the greenhouse.
Is that what you wanted to know?

:^) Just kidding!!

It is drop-dead gorgeous!!
I don't know much of the history but I will find out for you.

They do use it on special occasions like Christmas parade, 4th of July parade, weddings, etc.

It is drawn by a team of mules.
The driver is a 6th generation mule/horse breaker/trainer.

I'll also try to get a full pic of it.

But tell about the plants...an old greenhouse full of strange and marvelous old specimens...I'd be in heaven. josh

Oh man, love those cloches! And yes, that buggy, yummm..

josh,

Unfortunately, most of the specimens have the much-dreaded horticultural malady TDTI (too dead to identify).

Those cloches are exquisite. Big sigh.........I'm coveting them. LOL. I picked up some glass cheese domes at Goodwill with the intention of using them as cloches. Not exactly esthetic, but it works.

calliope,

Something I use as sort-a cloches, more as protection from kids and other vermits, is old bird cages.

I take the bottom off and all the perches, etc. out just using the frame.

Not very attractive but it works and has on occasion been quite a conversation piece.

My Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary says

"cloche, noun [F, lit., bell, fr. ML clocca]: a woman's small helmetlike hat usu. with deep rounded crown and a very narrow brim"

That definition, I know, but what is its meaning in terms of garden useage? From Suzi's post, I assume it has to do with covering plants?

As I've said before, every time I visit the GP, I learn something new!

mwheel,

This may be helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Cloche

I saw some beautiful Cloches in English and Scottish gardens
when we visited there on several occasions.

I was going to try and buy some but then I found out how expensive they were.

Wanda I know you must have had a ball with that project.

I haven't seen a carriage like that since Sherman vacationed in Atlanta on his way to the beach.

mwheel........I read the article Wanda posted, and it would still leave in my mind, why a cloche?

Mostly and traditionally they are used to keep in humidity when one propagates by cuttings. If you've ever heard of somebody's grandparents starting roses by sticking a cutting in the ground and covering it with a canning jar, that's using a cloche to keep the moisture in, because the plant doesn't yet have roots to take up water. So, one must keep the humidity up around the leaves, or they'll dry out and the cutting may fail.

If I ever ran into a stash of old cloches, you bet I'd put them in my gardens or use them in my g'houses...dog and kids don't belong in either. LOL.

suzy - I picked up three cheese domes from a church sale, for the same purpose! They're perfect for tiny lettuces.

My sister gave me a set of these:

http://www.gardeners.com/Glass-Cloche--Solar-Bells/VegetableGardening_SeasonExtending,35-067,default,cp.html

From a distance, they look pretty good!

But these are my favourite, at the link below:

Sigh.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lantern cloches

stb,

I LOVE the latern cloches, too.

I read the ad of the ones your sister gave you...said they're plastic with vented top.
How would that be different from using a recycled 2-3 liter soda bottle with on/off lid?
I'm thinking of the sun in the sunny south...has anyone tried this?
Thinking of the magnification of the sun via the glass as opposed to soda bottle plastic.
Also, what about colored plastic soda bottles...like the green...???

Geez...this opens up a whole new area of experimentation.

suzy,
A lady in my county inherited a very large, very old Camellia garden with lots of specimens.
She only propagates using the canning jar/sand technique. She has it down to a fine art.

We currently have a cold frame set up for radishes, lettuces, etc.

It's about 4 feet x 14 feet.

{{gwi:148755}}

Wanda! That's a thing of beauty...... People don't make use of coldframes like they should. I have put up a few temporary ones over the years against the south side of my chicken coop and it works a charm. I'm jealous.

Sara, I am laughing about the cheese domes. Great minds think alike.

Yes.......you need to be careful using plastic soda bottles. I've done it in my veggie garden on occasion. But, you have to be very careful to get them off pronto as soon as the sun gets high enough in the horizon to fry the contents. It doesn't take long. That's why I have never had any luck with starting stuff in the ground with jars over them. I have fried way too many roses.

Wanda, tell me about propagating Camellias and I'll get some
from my neighbor next door.

Wanda, thanks for the link and Suzi, thanks for your further explanation. I doubt I'll ever have a use for a cloche--the garden kind, anyway--but one never knows. At least, now, if I see one, I'll know what it is. :>)

jan,

I'll look for the pamphlet she printed up.
I went to her garden a couple of times for seminars.

Like I said, she has it down to a fine art and I would hate to tell you anything wrong.