Use a few flowers for accent Most container gardeners focus on flowers, but I use flowers only as occasional accents. My angel-wing begonias, for instance, are rarely permitted to bloom in this garden. Even though flowers aren't the stars of the show, they do accent my container plantings. In fact, most of the flowers in my container garden are those of ornamental grasses. Their earthy colors blend right in, and I love the way they sway in the slightest breeze.
Fragrance is also a determining factor.
Although it wasn't my goal, I've found that maintaining containers with foliage plants is easier than keeping up colorful pots of flowers. There are fewer fading flowers to deadhead, and foliage needs only occasional sprucing up. And instead of fertilizing weekly, I just mix in a pelletized, slow-release fertilizer at planting time and then give my plants a drink of liquid fertilizer two or three times over the summer. Because my containers are mostly in shade, I don't have to water quite as often, either. In a sunny setting, I might water daily.