You dont want Annuals or Perennials, you want evergreens?
Japanese Aralia
Rosemary
Japanese Maples

Almost all salvia do well in containers. Also, you might consider citrus trees. I grow citrus in containers and, while they're not winter hardy in my DFW area (they need some winter protection), I think they're lovely trees and there's nothing like a fresh lemon in November.

Growing azaleas in containers is a tricky business, but it can be done.

Lots of plants will do great in containers. When deciding on your container plant, consider
1. How often do you plan to water this plant? If you want to get away with watering once a week or less in mid-summer then you may want to look at xeric plants like cactus, agave, yuccas. Some plants will need to be watered daily.
2. Are you going to bring your plant in during the winter or leave it outside? Are you willing to cover it in a freeze? Container plants' roots are more suseptable to freezing. If you want it to be carefree then pick something that is well adapted to your winters.
3. Full sun, full shade, morning sun, afternoon sun? Makes a difference.

Without knowing more info, I would second the idea of rosemary and salvias. They're very hardy.