I'd second the advice that bamboos can look very nice in a Mediterranean style garden, but are seriously messy year round with constant leaf drop, and most do appreciate regular summer irrigation to look their best. If your pool has an automatic pool cover, the Alphonse Karr may be worth doing, with Mexican Weeping Bamboo another beautiful candidate that is also a clumper. I'd suggest you research large shrub/small tree choices via the Sunset Western Garden Book sections on Trees, Hedges, Drought tolerant plants, Plants near pools amongst others. There are real advantages to using trees that don't continuously drop leaves/flowers around an open pool. Ceanothus Ray Hartman is also messy in bloom season. Tried and true "cleaner" trees would include Tristaniopsis laurina, Eriobotrya deflexa, Podocarpus latifolius or P. gracilior, to name a few. Other main issues to sort out regarding major plantings is whether you will be irrigating or not. As Al also mentioned, make sure you've got the Ivy under control or don't ignore regrowth from seed or creeping in from the neighbors. Posting pictures would definitely help with getting advice, and you might really benefit from hiring a landscape designer to help you sort out the design issues and narrow down the plant choices/decisions.

Why not check out the lists of pool plants, plants for heat, and plants for color as listed in Sunset Western Garden Encyclopedia? All of your concerns are addressed very well in these lists. You might also want to see books on pool landscaping to get ideas. In general, plants that hold onto their leaves, are evergreen, do not create lots of litter, and do not attract bees are all good criteria for planting around pools. Additionally, sun exposure, soil type, need for privacy or access, and style preferences would also factor into plant suggestions. Long season of bloom for heat could include many types of mediterannean style plants, but proximity to the pool and degree of messiness will be an issue in locating them. posting pictures and giving further info will help to get you more specific and useful suggestions...

I've been following this thread for some time. Braz, your wall hanging is great--I really like it, want you to keep it, and use those colors as your inspiration to decorate with the folks here. But I want you to know that in your lifetime as a homeowner, you are going to be very happy to learn how very easy it is to repair small holes such as would be left by removing a wall hanging, nails, screws, etc. Every homeowner should have a small bucket with some spackle in it (paste-like stuff you buy in a small canister at your local hardware store), some sandpaper of different grits, and a tool for applying the spackle. I like to use a plastic picnic knife. If your wall has texture, then you can buy some spray-on texture. It has been pretty easy for me to imitate the knock-down tract-house texture on my walls, so it should be easy for anyone.

I agree with Patricia that the dark beams aren't necessary. I did think it looked a little incomplete to not darken the beams if you have dark trim, but that wouldn't be my preference anyway. I would play up the Mediterranean style in the landscaping and make it more free-form with lavender, sage, and maybe an Italian cypress if that works in your zone. Just adding more colour and texture there makes a good bit of difference. I think I still prefer the added character of traditional Mediterranean blue trim. Of course, it really depends on your neighborhood and the style you're going for.