In July 2020, Judy Hamilton was "devastated" after her garden was destroyed in an extreme weather event on the south coast of New South Wales.
Regrowing the garden was challenging due to drought and bushfires over recent years in the area. Then, La Niña came to the rescue.
La Niña is a weather event where stronger equatorial trade winds result in increased rainfall across much of Australia.
Higher levels of humidity in Mollymook Beach has given Mrs Hamilton's residential garden a new lease of life.
"The birds are back and we are starting to obtain a little more shade.
"It's just a different, beautiful garden and we love it again."
Gift of nature
The Hamilton garden consists of predominantly native plants, including lilly pilly, bangalow palm, tree fern, birds nest fern and cabbage palm. Mrs Hamilton said recent weather conditions had been favourable for vegetation on her property.
"It's good to get the plants established and flourishing in time for the next inevitable drought season"
Liverpool City Council's environment officer Alexi Gilchrist said parklands across his local government area have experienced consistent and significant vegetation growth.
"As a result of the additional rainfall and warm weather conditions, the trees in our parks and along our streetscapes are doing well, while many more native plants have been germinating than expected."
"The weather is helping newly planted trees establish, resulting in less maintenance for our tree team."
A mixed blessing
Mrs Hamilton said increased moisture, driven by La Niña had been a "mixed blessing" that came with several challenges.
"The weed growth has also been exponential and difficult to manage.
"Luckily for me this is not really a problem, because after years of working in an office, becoming a gardener has been a dream realised"
Mr Gilchrist said the council's groundkeepers also had mixed feelings about the increased moisture in recent days.
"While the turf in our open spaces is also benefiting from current weather conditions, its vigorous growth however requires more frequent mowing."
"Broadleaf turf weeds such as bindii, flatweed and clover now require year-round management, compared to around five years ago when management was limited to a period from April to September."
Liverpool has recently witnessed a simultaneous growth of plant and turf pests such as powdery mildew and termites.
Heavy rainfall has become more obstructive to the ground crews' maintenance effort.
"Given much of the Liverpool local government area is on clay soils, which have poor drainage, access to sites can be limited for some time even after the rain has stopped."
What should household gardeners do?
Below are Mr Gilchrist's recommendations for managing increased growth and moisture in the home garden
- Early intervention and suppression: Use the cooler months to your advantage to get on top of things before peak growing season. Get the weeds out and mulch to prevent them coming back with a vengeance in the warmer months.
- Know your priorities: Have a think about what you can and can't live with in your backyards and gardens. This will simplify the work you need to do to get there. For instance, Mr Gilchrist always prioritises weedy vines over anything as they will strangle whatever they get into. Then, it's getting whatever is in flower and about to set seed so there are fewer popping up next year.
- Pay attention to your larger plants, trees, and big shrubs: Make sure there aren't any problem branches that are growing into powerlines or may fall and cause damage. It is good practice to keep things pruned back to maintain access around your property.
