One problem could be that even "full sun" plants (needing 6+ hours of direct sunlight) are not acclimated to being placed in intense sunlight after we buy them. Many times they are grown in greenhouses during the autumn and winter months receiving sufficient light for growth, but this is nothing like the "el scorcharoo" hot spring/summer sunlight we situate them in. They probably are being in a shaded in a garden centre for weeks afterward too. I'm embarrassed to say as a professional horticulturist that I killed half of my CACTI collection one year by placing them in hot sunlight during the spring months, after they had been indoors receiving sunlight in a south facing window. Since they were no longer under a ceiling and surrounded by walls, that made all the difference. They burned up. Oh me, oh my. Take Jenny's suggestion and slowly over the weeks bring full sun plants into full sun.

Unless you're making an effort to contain the view within the patio area itself--as you would in an interior room--I'd disregard the advice about having a "focal point" and consider the view to the outside world, the "objet d' vu." Using greenery to frame the view could be a nice feature. The plants could be more or less out of the way and rather than BE a feature, just be the edge to the "windows" that are already there. A climbing vine such as heavenly blue morning glory, moonvine, or Mandevilla or something capable of climbing a cord trellis would work, The "trellis" could be hung on a couple of stout hooks in the wood ceiling members. The hooks could remain permanently but the cord trellis could be lifted off and removed as necessary. As a practical concern, a planter needs to be large enough to support plant life in a healthy manner, but other than that, not having it any larger than necessary would help preserve balcony space. A half-round planter such as the one pictured below could work for the center post. Quarter-round planters are hard to find, so you could use anything that's compatible, and probably narrower, for the outer walls. Some shade tolerant, blooming annuals planted around the outer edge of the planter (begonias, lobelia or something along those lines) would spill over its edge and be a nice touch, too. I like that the rail and pickets have a light/view filtering effect rather than act as a complete screen to the lower portion of the view. If they were mine, I'd prefer not to cover them to any appreciable degree with foliage.

The balcony on the right is the neighbor's the townhomes are set up as grouped duplexes. We also have an equally large balcony on the back overlooking the pool. A lot of space to fill! These balconies are not really convenient to use because we have sheers in the bedroom windows that we keep closed for privacy, so we have to battle through those, and the balconies are much more exposed so less pleasant to sit on. We have a large patio out from and out back, both of which are much more private and have shade, so we have no shortage of sitting outdoors space. I would have been happy with no balconies and just some railings with window boxes or something! Yes HOAs can be limiting but to be honest I am glad, when you live in close quarters you don't want to have everyone putting up random stuff everywhere or storing junk on the balconies. Also the HOA is responsible for painting and repairing balconies so they want to ensure that plant pots are not sitting in water rotting the deck etc.

I have read that you can move the pot adjacent to your house in the winter for additional heat and it is like putting it in a garage. Yup, I love 'My Neighbor Totoro." I also really like the peachy climber Colette for its color, fragrance, bloom form, shade tolerance and disease resistance (so far) but it may not stay as small as Quicksilver. Do a search on these forums for it. Here is my first year from RUL