What are some good potted plants to place on my apartment balcony?

I'm moving and my balcony will be relatively big, so I'm thinking I'll put out a couple of chairs, a small table and potted plants. I've never grown any potted plants before, so I don't know what to get.

What are some good potted plants to place on my apartment balcony?
Oh, lucky you, your new place sounds very cool.....I also used to live in Northern California (but in the Central Valley so not the best part - it's way hot and dry) and I like plants but I basically have a brown thumb. I envy those who can grow them. An attractive plant called a "bird of paradise" (it looks kind of like a banana tree when it's not blooming) was able to survive on my patio. So were some succulents and a plant that resembles a palm tree but isn't a true palm; it came from the Randall's. I love bougainvillea and it didn't die on me but didn't bloom. I am told that to make it bloom you should feed it hibiscus food or bougainvillea food. Roses will grow for many people in the Central Valley....I am only able to grow oleander which is so hardy that I think it will be the only flowering plant to survive a nuclear disaster. Life on earth will consist only of roaches, algae, and oleander I guess....If I were you, I would go to either the garden center at Home Depot (where they have this huge garden center) and try to find a manager who is knowledgeable about what will survive in pots on your patio, and what you'll need to feed it if anything, or else go to a more upscale, fancy garden store, and talk to the people there. I really like those purple flowers called, I think, "potato vine," which Home Depot sells. Mandevillia is a pretty plant with pink flowers and large glossy leaves that Home Depot also sells. Cross-vine is a very pretty climbing plant with orange flowers that I've never seen at Home Depot. For a magazine with good suggestions about gardening in the West, try Sunset Magazine. I often don't like lifestyle magazines, but I make an exception for Sunset because their recipes are really good and so are their travel articles. Their garden articles always have very attractive suggestions and seem highly practical as well.
Reply:Aloe Vera and other succulents are durable, hardy, and attractive...very low maintenance.
Reply:Miniature roses would look nice.