1 Papayas in a hurry: Cherimoyas, mangoes and papayas are the only commonly available fruit whose seeds grow into trees with fruit that is, as we say, true to type. You’ll wait five to eight years after planting a mango seed to see fruit, and three to four for a cherimoya, but a papaya seed will shoot up into a tree that will bear fruit only 6-12 months after planting. Papaya trees, which are native to the tropics of Mexico and Central America, will die in a frost but may be grown successfully from Granada Hills to San Bernardino and everywhere south of the line between those two points.

After removing the aril (fluid bubble) around the papaya seed, allow it to dry out, then immediately plant it barely beneath the soil surface. You can also order papaya seeds from online vendors. A papaya tree may be male, female or bisexual. (Note: The vast majority of plants are bisexual, having both male and female flower parts.) However, commercial papaya orchards are invariably bisexual trees, and it is their fruit you see in the market. The seeds from this fruit will grow into bisexual or female trees, but you will not know which you have until flowers develop.

It is thus a common practice to germinate a group of seeds in containers and to select the self-fertile, bisexual seedlings once their flowers bloom, for planting out in the garden. Pollination of papaya trees, incidentally, is both by wind and insects, with hawkmoths — the adults of tomato hornworms — assisting in the process.

2 Less is more: If you want your fig tree to produce heavy crops year after year, cut back almost all of last year’s new growth if you have not done so already. This will give you a tree of a manageable size where no ladders are needed to harvest the fruit, even while the quantity of your harvest will be significant.

3 Heaven scent: Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) may be the most fragrant of all flowering plants. It requires half-day sun and, once established, is rather drought-tolerant. Every year at this time, thousands of blossoms open, each lasting for a few days. The total period of bloom is not long, barely lasting a month, but the experience is as memorable as it is brief. You seldom see mock orange in nurseries or garden centers, perhaps because of its deciduous nature, its relatively brief bloom period or the fact that, in our climate, it is more sun sensitive than most plants. Meanwhile, you can find it in the nursery trade here and there, and it is available through Internet vendors.

4 Raising the flag: I planted a single African corn flag (Chasmanthe floribunda) plant a few years ago and it is now flowering throughout my garden. Native to South Africa, it reproduces by corms and seeds. Its desire to grow is powerful, as its seeds found their way into my parkway and shot up right through 2 feet of lantana thatch. Orange-red in color, the African corn flag now makes a fitting complement to the yellow and orange lantana varieties that cover the parkway. Its flower wands consist of 20-40 paired and curving blooms that hold up in a vase for up to two weeks. This plant has naturalized in the San Francisco area, meaning it has jumped the garden fence and escaped into the wild, although I have not seen it in any of our local wilderness areas. It will remind you of montbretia (crocosmia), a fall bloomer and close relative of African corn flag. Plant its seeds together with larkspur and hollyhock seeds for a triumvirate of self-sowing, naturalizing beauties that soar up to 5 feet or more into the air.

5 Keep things light: For a bright addition to the shade garden, plant variegated Hawaiian elf (Schefflera arboricola “Variegata”). The gold splotches in the foliage illuminate dark corners. To add texture to your shady retreat, plant philodendron Xanadu. Its scalloped leaf margins provide a touch of whimsy that is a pleasant departure from the funereal formality often associated with shade-loving species. Keep in mind that shade plants require at least three hours of good ambient light to grow. Sometimes, a planter is so shady that nothing will grow in it and you are better off filling the space with ornamental stones or a small fountain.