Gardening in autumn, but still a humid and wet

Dear Reader,
There has been so much else going on with work and family that we have only yesterday but in a big day trying to win back our garden from the rampant summer growth.
The big hedge of Duranta repens at the front with it's vicious thorns has been semi civilized with the help of our friends Tracey and Chris. Two truck loads of material went to the 'green waste' tip but this hedge is still 4-5 meters high. The side hedge of small leaf privet Ligustrum spp has been pushed back. Thank heaven for tall friends and mechanical hedge trimmers and chain saws.
Some big shrubs have been heavily reduced including Buckinghamia celcissima, Euphorbia (poincettia) and Dombeya tileaceous as they were assuming tree like proportions.
The hedge trimmer came in handy to attack and reduce Grewia occidentalis, Loropetalum chinense, Holmskiodia sanguinia (purple mandarin) and a 2 meter mixed hedge of Syzygium australe. Reducing this latter hedge allows the very tall Michelia doltsopa 'silver cloud' to show off.
Reducing some branches of a large Gordonia axillaris has restored some sight-lines from the house verandah.
The unceasing rainy or showery weather has made a mess of our attempts to sow seed but luckily our soil drains well. Mysteriously a large Rhododendron vireya is dying while a beaut Viburnum macrocephalum is happily flowering next to it.
Weed growth is prolific and our pile of green trimmings are reaching Everest proportions. These 'mulch' pile to break down to produce sweet compost which we encourage with blood and bone and lime over the heaps .
Coming into flower or bud are Camellias both sesanqua and japonica, Tea and China roses, all manner of salvia and the beautiful Lepachina salviae. Plectranthus ecklonii (blue, white and pink), Plectranthus saccatus and the various Plectranthus hybrids such as 'Mona lavender' are flowering freely as is the fairly invasive red flowering Ruellia graezecans. The beautiful pendulous pink bells of Strobilanthes cusia create a cloud of delicate colour while the hanging lanterns of Abutilon pictum, Abutilon megapotamincum and Abutilon hybridum (such as double pink) flower irrepressibly.
Problems: some slightly greasy paths due to mould and moss, delicate flowers such as some roses blown to bits and rampant growth which threatens to overwhelm some areas of the garden. Also there is the continuous battle in weed infestation with tropical chickweed, Tradescantia alba and prolific seedlings of Tabebuia chrysotrica and Inga edulis which have deep tap roots.
To balance all of this are the continuous surpises in this garden e.g. the beautiful unidentified pencil orchid (?Dendrobium) flowering ridiculously on one of our front fence palings; the wind bourne new staghorn and birds nest ferns popping up on surfaces and even scultures around the place.
New plantings Eucomis (very dark leaved var Pineapple lily), Hibiscus mutablis (single crimson var), Hydrangia macrophylla variegata and a variegated Pandorea jasminoides.
After 5 months of wet weather we are hoping for some opportunitys to sit outside and perhaps light a campfire.
Kyleigh and Michael Simpson