Acid compost required for these - Camellia japonica; Pieris varieties, particularly Silver Queen or variegata. Fatsia japonica (ordinary compost)

Welcome to GOY Helen what a lovely idea and lasting memories.

A nice rhododendron in pot or the garden and blooms every year.

We planted a nice memory rose in a lovely pot .

Did your Granddad love plants and if so why don't you plant one of his favorites.

heres an idea . how about getting a big pot and cutting the bottem out as it will look the same but give you so many more options and be much easier to upkeep .

I think one of the pieris is a good idea from bamboo - ever green, flowers etc. Just give it an ericaceous feed every spring. Needs ericaceous or rose/shrub compost. Try the variegated leaf variety for more interest. Rhododendrun also a good idea and needs same as for pieris. They do need water at their base on occasion.

I've just noticed a mistake in my answer - I didn't mean Pieris Silver Queen (which doesn't exist), I meant Pieris Flaming Silver!

There are now so many varieties, bamboo ... though, my memory is going for the silver queen euonymous? Also, a lovely variegated evergreen plant with pretty white flower and little maintence?

Hmm, well I'd say a lot of positive things about the Euonymus you mention (and yes, I'd confused the name flaming silver with silver queen, duh!) but growing it for its flowers would not be one of them. You practically need a magnifying glass to see them, and in a pot, you'd be constantly trimming it to shape and losing any flowers anyway...

Yes, I agree, bamboo ... lol!! Though on an established shrub, the flowers are more noticeable, but perhaps better for a border and not for this particular query. The pieris varieties do have the advantage of all year colour and interest in a pot, right from a young age. Camelias are also a favourite, but flower so shortly! Noseypotter's idea of cutting out the base, is interesting for more options, and stopping it getting pot-bound, such as a dwarf double-flowering cherry maybe? Depends on the size of the pot, at the end of the day.