There are exceptions, but nothing will kill plants faster than too much or too little water. Some plants are very finiky about having their soil just right. For plants like that (e.g. violets and cyclamen), a [link|http://www.theperfectvioletpot.com/growing.html|violet pot] can be very handy. Cyclamen are beautiful, but like it cool - they don't do well if the temperature reaches above [link|http://www.thegardenhelper.com/cyclamen.html|65 F]. Outdoor plants in pots can be a challenge because they can dry out too quickly if you're not careful.

You need to know a few things.

1) What's your plant hardiness zone? Go [link|http://www.gardenhere.com/Zones.shtm|here] and enter your zip code. It'll give you a number that'll tell you what "zone" your in (based on the typical minimum temperature). I'm in zone 7-ish.

2) Will your balcony get morning, evening, direct, indirect sun? That'll also determine what plants are best for your balcony.

Browse around [link|http://www.ext.vt.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Docs.woa/wa/getcat?cat=ir-ln-ig-pp|here] for some information on various types of potted plants. Your state "extension" (attached to a state land-grant university) may have similar information for your zone.

If you like drought-tolerant plants, or just plants that are a little out of the ordinary, browse around [link|http://www.yuccado.com/browse.htm|Yucca Do]. I got my MIL some plants there that seem pretty interesting. The company seems to be very good to deal with. They have plant for many zones.

[link|http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0903505355/sr=1-1/qid=1145968712/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4671264-8747935?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books|House Plant Expert] is a pretty good book. I have a 1994 edition.

HTH. Have fun!

Cheers,
Scott.

;-)

If you want easy, it's hard to beat ivy. It's pretty hard to kill. (But I hate ivy myself. Too many people treat it as a maintenance free ground cover, but it's very invasive and will help to kill trees that it crawls on. (Trees shouldn't have their bark wet too long - ivy keeps tree bark wet, attracts ants and other bugs, etc.).) Please don't go there unless you can't grow anything else. :-)

Small [link|http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mainPage=advsearchresults&SearchText=p16.v227;s1.Azalea&scChannel=Trees%20Shrubs%20AS|azaleas] might be a good choice for you. They enjoy shade and cool temperatures. If you keep them trimmed, they can grow well in containers. They can be very colorful and bloom a couple of times a year. You'll need to water it once or twice a week, and maybe trim it every other year, but that should be about it.

Cheers,
Scott.

Lots of places say that they like to be kept moist. That's true, but they'll die if they have "wet feet". They must have good drainage. Don't let the roots sit in water or soggy soil.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Scott.