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Everyone's familiar with bougainvillea. They're great as container plants with the roots restricted. They even bloom better. Just a little water and a little fertilizer to keep them going and they continue to look good all summer.

Mandevilla is a great vine, produces beautiful flowers. This little semi-dwarf variety, called red riding hood, is good in a container around a jacuzzi or a pool where it continues to produce some really hot color plants all summer long.

I like hibiscus. Everyone's familiar with the tropical types of hibiscus, many different bloom colors and forms, absolutely stunning.

For a little added bonus, go for a variety that produces leaves like this with the splashes of pink and white and green. It’s really attractive even when the plant’s not in color.

Agapanthus, or lily of the Nile, is a pretty hardy perennial for us here in Texas. Its blooms rise up above the foliage and are absolutely stunning in the summer months.

Banana's another good choice. If you choose a dwarf variety, like dwarf cavendish, it’s especially nice. Just locate it in a spot that doesn’t get too much wind because wind tends to shred the foliage and make them look a little bit ratty.

Perhaps my favorite gaudy plant is canna. Probably the only plant that looks good with pink flamingos in the landscape. And as an added bonus you get some nice orange blooms, as well.