Help me plan what plants to have in containers on decking (14 x 12ft)

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So - dc's plastic garden toys are too small for them so now claiming ownership of the decking.

I'm planning on getting a couple of adirondack chairs so dh and I can relax at the end of the day in the sun.

I have a normal victorian rectangle garden - decking is at the end.
The rest of the garden is cottage-ish style planting near the house - lots of flowers etc. Lawn and then decking at the end. It has trellis surrounding it and a climbing rose is attempting to climb it (although not very successfully)

I am completely stuck with what to put on the decking.

I was thinking about perhaps large ornamental grasses? Or something architectural?

Any ideas? I've been googling but haven't seen anything I can copy like.

Rosemary, It smells lovely and has pretty little flowers.

Mmm - yes I do like Rosemary I did have a lovely one which had pretty pink flowers. It died though :(

I should add I want things to go in containers. So far I have come up with some kind of palm and perhaps an olive tree.

I have a vague recollection of a lovely stripy grass which is quite tall and almost transparent - quite wispy - can't seem to find it on crocus

A couple of Bay trees?

An olive tree would be lovely.

How about agapanthus? They are very architectural and fare better in pots than they do in the ground. Is this the stripey grass you were thinking of?

Yes - have some agapanthus in posts elsewhere - could move them I think.

No- that's not the grass - but I have seen that one and it could be a contender. The one I'm thinking off had stripry/flecked flowers.

Olive trees are fab if you live in a warmer part of the country. From Bucks northwards you may have problems with frost.

Hydrangeas can be wondeful, dahlias if you don't mind the faff of lifting in late autumn. What height are you looking for the plants to grow up to?

I have 3x4m of decking and we regularly entertain 8 for lunch in summer. Right now I have...

Two pines in 18inch terracotta pots, about a metre tall grown from seed (has taken 8 years!)
pot of chives
pot of caraway
long rectangular planter with three blueberries
1x1 metre frame with plastic cover, nurturing bean and courgette seedlings, plus three hemerocallis and a large-ish pot with giant oriental lilies
four large pots of daffs tulips hyacinths etc
two marshalls potato growing sacks
one little box plant with a ridiculous squirrel topiary frame over it
a triple stacked strawberry growing thing
two patio fruit trees (peach and apricot)

and...
a toy box, two welly bags and a spare water butt.

Wow - that's a fair amount of stuff!

I'm probably looking for 3-4 plants to grow up to about 1 - 1.5 metres tall. The rest can be smaller.

Ideally I'd like 5-6 large planters rather than lots of smaller ones.

I'm in the sunny south so can probably get away with some of the more hardy tropicals.

So far I have narrowed it down to:

Some kind of palm (in a pot) - possibly a chusan palm.
I also have a fatsia japonica that is currently going mad in the ground but perhaps would benefit from being split and potted.
Olive tree
Some kind of grass or perhaps bamboo in a pot.
A fig tree
I'm also thinking about maybe a fern - perhaps Harts Tongue Fern

I do like hydrangeas as well.

We have a separate eating area so this is aiming to have more of a relaxing sitting area where we can wind down at the end of the day.

ooh - I didn't know that about the berries - I'll be more careful with it.

I like the look of this umbrella bamboo - it sounds as if it would be good in a pot too.

I do prefer phormiums to cordylines - just found a lovely tri-colour variety which looks unusual.

Actually, bran, ricin is made from ricinus communis, the castor oil plant. Apparently, that's why the seeds are now sold only by mail order - so that the seed companies have a record of who's bought it. Fatsia japonica is the false castor oil plant.

There's no need, bran! I don't want to be a smart alec, but it is important (I think) to know which are the really poisonous plants. Mind you, I doubt that eating the berries from a fatsia would do one much good either.

A fig would be great - productive too in the sunny south, and it will be happy without too much watering. I'd recommed going with the natural conditions of the area - sun loving plants rather than fatsias etc which might struggle in the sun in pots which do quickly dry out.

How about olives, lavendar, maybe even citrus if you have somewhere to give them a bit of protection in the winter.

I have just bought a standard fig tree from Dobies to go in a big pot on the decking. Also have planters which I fill with sweet peas to cover the fence, a mini apple tree, pots of herbs and some tubs of tomatoes or strawberries.

Last year I had some tubs full of salad which actually looked quite decorative!

Thanks everyone for your input.
Have finally decided on a palm, fig, fatsia and grasses - am in the process of painting garden furniture and cleaning the decking - may post pics once done!