Advice For Beginner Gardeners

There are few better hobbies than gardening. Gardening allows you to improve your living space, be outside enjoying the sunshine and fresh air without leaving your home, and it is an active and rewarding hobby. These are just a few of the main benefits of gardening as a hobby, but it is also something that can be challenging to get started with. Therefore, it is helpful to be aware of a few tips that will help you to get started with gardening and hopefully allow you to enjoy these many benefits. Keep reading to find out a few handy tips for beginner gardeners.

Create A Plan

Before you get started, it is important to get to know your garden and then plan how you want to use it. You need to know important factors like areas that get the most (and least) sun, what direction it faces, and the type of soil that you have, just as a few important factors. With this information, you can then create a floor plan for your garden and figure out what to plant and where and how to really make the most out of the space.

Learn How To Plant & Nurture Plantlife

Gardening is all about knowledge, so you need to make sure that you know how to plant and look after different types of plant life to make sure that they grow properly. Fortunately, the internet is a brilliant resource for gardeners as you can find out how to grow just about anything online with various different websites, blogs, and podcasts. Additionally, you might find it helpful to join online communities where you can get advice, ask questions and engage with other gardeners.

Protect Yourself

When you start spending a lot more time outside and in the sun, it is important that you protect yourself. Being outside is good for you in many ways, but there are dangers, so you should always wear sunscreen, try to avoid spending too long in the sun, and wear UV contact lenses. UV contact lenses will protect your eyes from harmful UV rays and prevent you from needing to wear glasses, which will often fall off when gardening.

Start Off Small

As with any home improvement project, people often get over excited and bite off more than they can chew when it comes to gardening. Instead, you need to start off small by simply working on one area at a time. This will make it much easier to manage, help you to stay organized, and gradually improve your garden. You also need to avoid overdoing it as gardening can be physically demanding and tiring, so taking regular breaks is important.

These tips should come in handy for anyone that is looking to start gardening as a hobby. Gardening can improve your home and your life in many ways, but it is also a hobby that can be tricky to get started with, and you will want to know these basic tips before you begin.

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One thing I didn’t expect when I started writing posts about the countries of the world was that there would be countries I haven’t heard of. But here we are with Comoros, an independent archipelago made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, which I had never heard of before it showed up on my list. So let’s see what we can learn about Comoros!

Comoros Basics

Comoros, or Union of the Comoros, is located in the Indian Ocean and is 641 square miles, or 1,659 square kilometers, making it the third-smallest African nation by area (there are other island groups that are smaller).

The population is around 900,000, and the capital and largest city is Moroni.

Comoros declared independence from France in 1975. One island that is considered part of the Comoro Islands voted against independence and is still an overseas department of France.

The official state religion is Sunni Islam, and the official languages are Comorian, French and Arabic. It’s the only country that’s part of the Arab League that is completely in the Southern Hemisphere.

The islands were originally settled by Asian, Arab and African peoples before becoming part of the French empire. It’s a place of great political instability, which has had more than 20 coups or attempted coups. It is a presidential republic with a legislature.

Here’s one the kids will like: legend has it the largest island was formed by a volcano that developed because a jinn dropped a jewel in the ocean.

Comoros National Symbols

The Comoros flag bears four horizontal stripes in yellow, white, red and blue, with a green triangle on the left side featuring a white crescent moon and four stars. The four stripes and four stars represent the four main islands (including that one that voted against independence), while the green, star and crescent symbolize Islam.

The national anthem is “Udzima wa ya Masiwa” (sometimes spelled different ways, but I’m following Wikipedia on this one), which means “Union of the Great Islands.” It was adopted in 1978 and also mentions that wayward island of Mayotte still claimed by the French.

The national seal includes the same crescent and stars as on the flag, rotated on their side. This is on top of a stylized sun and surrounded by a pair of olive branches. The name of the country is written in French and Arabic, and the national motto (Unité, Solidarité, Développement, or Unity, Solidarity, Development) is written at the bottom.

There’s not a lot of information available about the country, but the CIA Handbook tells me they do a lot of fishing, and the top agricultural products are bananas, coconuts, cassava, yams and maize. Perfume production is also a top industry.

One website I found shows a picture of a Malagasy bulbul as the national bird. This songbird has a bright orange beak and is found on Madagascar and on some other nearby islands. It also suggests the Nectaropetalum zuluense, a small, five petaled white flower, is the national flower.

Another video says the national flower is the ylang-ylang and the national animal is the mongoose lemur. It also says the national bird is the blue pigeon, but I couldn’t find any official word on any of this. The same video said the national fruit is the bungo fruit, which is sort of like a combination of an orange and pineapple with a hard orange shell.

Comoros Activities for Kids

Learn more about the mongoose lemur, a critically endangered lemur that is indigenous to Madagascar and was introduced to Comoros. Another awesome animal from the island is the (also critically endangered) Livingstone’s fruit bat, also known as the Comoros flying fox.

Check out Mount Karthala, the still-active volcano that produced Grand Comore island (also known as Ngazidja).

Comoros has a history of pirates and raiders, including a visit from the notorious Captain Kidd, whose crew took ill on the island and many are buried there. Learn more about Kidd and his supposed still-buried treasure from Britannica.

Watch this video to learn about Moheli National Park, a remote marine sanctuary and tropical forest.

Learn about the traditional dress and cultural activities of the islands on this page from Adore Comoros.

You’ll find some Comoros printables and other activities at Teachers Pay Teachers.

What many consider the national dish is madaba, made from cassava leaves and coconut milk. Since cassava can be hard to come by in many parts of the world, the recipes I’m finding use kale and/or collard greens instead. Another popular dish is ndrovi ya nazi, plantains cooked in coconut milk and served with fish. Epicurious has a recipe for the plantain part.

You can also try pulao, a meat and rice dish. I’m not sure what meat they would use but this recipe from This Muslim Girl Bakes uses lamb. There’s also mikatra siniya, a white cake made from rice flour and coconut, that is classic for celebrations in Comoros. Grab the recipe from 196 Flavors.