I hope you figured something out -- that sounds pretty ambitious! A few years ago, I put in a garden for an upstairs neighbor, who had visions of a tropical retreat on her second floor, south facing front porch. We did pretty well; using big 30 gallon totes for planters, and lots of home-made self watering pots. We had the same problem; no water access. (She thought about running a hose from the bathroom or kitchen, but they were in the back of the aprtment, and somehow, stringing 50 feet of garden house thru the house didn't seem like a good idea!) Altho the gutter was right there, the landlord wouldn't let us access it. So we put a watering can height spigot in a sturdy trash can, and ran the end of a garden hose into the can near the top. We tied the remainder of the house to the drainspout all the way down to the ground, which was near the end of the garden hose. Once every 10 days, 2 weeks or so so we'd connect the hoses, and turn the water on full blast, to push it up to the second floor and fill the garbage can. Then we'd draw off watercas full of water as needed. It was not the most elegant system, but it certainly worked, and she had the most incredibly lush garden for a few years, on a block where the ground level yards were parched and brown by late July. Good luck with your set up -- who knew there was so much engineering in gardening?

This place looks like it might be able to provide the right type of retractable screen, eh? I called and while it was a brief call, the man said they can be more sheer for sun-blocking only or else can be more for privacy where you can't see through - and he said they come in something like a hundred different colors, and can be retracted either manually or w/ a motor. :) http://www.lasvegassolarscreens.com/patio_shades.html

Ways to screen and add variety without getting too busy. Colors and shrubs styles are arbitrary.

Hire an architect before you do anything. Nothing is worse than when people slap an addition on (especially a massive one like you're describing) and don't account for how it's going to affect curb appeal.