With a trend toward focusing on outdoor living more than plant collecting, theme gardening takes on a new life. The right palette of plants helps define the outdoor living style of your garden. The garden becomes a place in which to live, not just observe.

Mediterranean and Latin gardening styles have always put outdoor living first. Both are often fused into styles best described by "Californian" and "Southwestern" garden spaces. It's not surprising then that those were favored designs at the NW Flower and Garden Show these past several years.

Drought and heat tolerance are significant elements that become more meaningful as global warming evidences itself. Puget Sound basin summers have always meant low rainfall from July to September. Temperatures are also escalating, which makes for more time to enjoy the local beauty. So, who wants to be out there every weekend coddling some difficult posy when an outdoor living design takes less time and effort - and less money - once established?

The main feature of the new garden is hardscape to enjoy the great outdoors - decks, patios, terraces, shelters, pergolas. An outdoor kitchen allows more opportunity to be part of the great grilling marathon of summer. Fire pits and fireplaces allow after dark, even cool weather, enjoyment of the outdoors and your garden. Combined with comfy furniture, perhaps an entertainment center and refrigeration so your favorite libation is nearby and your outdoor space becomes the favorite warm weather spot.

Plants in the life-style garden are comparable to accessories in the home. For example, a tall, narrow Mediterranean cypress is as to that torchier floor lamp. A bed of pink, white and burgundy Hellebores is a sort of throw rug. The most important factor is that the plants will be highly noticeable so they must be the best and most interesting that can be gotten. The chocolate brown ninebark 'Diablo' is an accent piece the way a special vase would function inside.

Choosing to have the most livable outdoor room also means choosing plants that get noticed but don't demand constant attention. Be creative and be original.

Q: Recently, I redeveloped my front lawn into an ornamental flower bed. I covered the failing sod with several inches of topsoil mix to give the new plants a good start. The area is shaded much of the day by a tall, distinguished fir tree. It's not deep shade, and the sun does shine through in the early morning and late afternoon for a total of about 4 hours. The area is also pretty dry due to the tree.

I wanted low maintenance because I'm busy with family and work, so I planted Hosta, Astilbe, ferns, violas, Skimmia, and wintergreen. A friend says I planted the wrong plants. What do you think?

A: First, you earn unfettered praise for terminating your lawn. Lawns soak up more water, fertilizer, time and money than any other garden element. They also cover more of the country's precious soil than all food crops combined. Congratulations on a good environmental decision.

Hosta, Astilbe and ferns are generally high moisture lovers (with the notable exception of our native sword fern). Their water needs are at least as high as a green lawn (at an inch a week). These may indeed not be the best choices unless you plant to water frequently and keep the soil moist at all times. While they may survive an occasional drought, they show disfavor for desert conditions quickly and often fade away in a couple years under those conditions.

Skimmia shrubs are generally pretty tough plants and will tolerate dry shade, as will the groundcover wintergreen. Violas generally prefer more than part day sun to bloom well.

Your friend is generally correct about using the wrong plants in the wrong place. If you told the nursery staff the area was shady but left out the "dry" part, then it's not their fault for the wrong choices. With full disclosure of the site conditions, recommendations would have been better.

I suggest you seek out the many new true hardy fuchsias, sword ferns, newer Cape fuchsia (Phygelius) cultivars, Heucheras, and a number of the variegated sedges. While all plantings will require regular watering in the first year or so, until the plants are established, these plants are more self maintaining and undemanding than the ones you've chosen. Change what you've done and find a good home for the water lovers!