Hi Jenny, I'm no where NEAR experienced with this container growing stuff but I have to say I think the clay pots might help, when the problem is the ambient heat of the area as well as direct sun on the pots. Clay does breath so the roots dry out out quicker, but it also insulates the roots from the heat. And since they breathe, it enables you to water MORE without having to worry about roots staying too soggy. And I THINK (maybe Al will chime in on this) it's the temp of the ROOTs that often affect whether the plant takes up water and nutrients. Not the temperature in the air itself. I'm in the San Francisco bay area inland and my summer days get 90-100. My terra cotta pots (citrus mostly) seem to help not bake the roots. The ONLY plant I've ever lost (knock wood) was in plastic. You probably know, but there's another greek poster... goes by the name of "greekman" who has TONS of stuff on his balcony. I think he's in Athens, tho. Don't know where you are. And forgive me if I didn't read your entire post closely... but if you're able to construct some sort of umbrella, canopy, pergola across the top of your balcony that might help with the extreme heat. Oops, I see you said it didn't... but maybe if you went to a thicker shade block, who knows? As far as varieties... one thing I don't recall seeing on your list is figs or citrus or olives... things I always associate in pots in a mediterranean climate. (And they always sell them at our local greek festival every year.) I know nothing about growing those items (well citrus) and definintely NOT growing them in Greece, LOL, but have you tried those? One final thought... I agree with you I find succulents mostly unattractive. But I've beens seeing more and more I like that are drought tolerant and striking and you may be able to find a few varieties you like if it comes to it. Not all are prickly spiky things. Another idea might me some of the big grasses in a pot. Like a new zealand flax. Google the plant name and you'll see how big it gets. I just inherited a huge (like 7' tall one, about 8 years old) in a beautiful pot. It's foliage is striking but it could add height (for shade). Good luck this summer, -k

So much had happened since my last visit to Aegina. The old gardener had left some years ago and a new competent gardener, an Albanian, had recently gone back to Albania with his family and was sadly missed. He feared for the safety of his children. The right-wing extremist party Golden Dawn has members on the island who attack foreigners. So my friends are on their own now and are thinking of selling the house, not easy with the present economic crisis. We four visitors from Sweden and our host spent one day clearing up the garden and orchard, doing as much as we could with the poor tools at hand. The gardener had brought his own tools. Neighbours had complained that the bougainvillea hindered traffic on the street so we cut down everything above the wall but left some of it on the inner side. Some of us took down a dead pistachio tree and pruned an almond tree. We didn't have time to take down other dead trees or prune the olives. We had arrived in the middle of a late heat wave so it was 95F every day. A welcome change for Swedes starved for warmth after a terrible summer but it made working hard. The roses were left to me but I thought it was the wrong season to do much to them. They were all in full growth so I only took out dead wood, removed rootstock suckers, deadheaded and removed or tied in branches that were in the way along the pergola. Most roses were modern climbers or HT's growing like climbers, except a very beautiful huge Rosa chinensis var. sanguinea. The only other rose I could put a name to was an enormous Peace on the pergola. I didn't know what to do with it and did nothing. It had been planted before my friends moved in but they didn't know the names of any of the roses they had planted themselves either. They did know the names of the 10 varieties of grapes they grow. It was wonderful to refresh oneself with a bunch of grapes between cutting, sawing and carrying prunings. And best of all, to plunge into the cool blue water of the Mediterranean afterwards!

I actually chose Navajo White for my office because it's not as yellow as others. the undertones are more on the peachy end of the spectrum. but I suppose in your space, it reads as too yellow! Another soft white I like in that category is Sherwin Williams Paper Kraft. it's even peachier than Navajo - but very subtle. Edit: just realized this is an old post but I'll leave my comment up anyway.

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.