You can post all your container gardening on the Containers forum here:
http://garden.org/forums/view/...
Or if you want to discuss specific plants, scroll down the list of forums on the home page and choose the one that fits, eg. chrysanthemums are a perennial flower.
Yes, basil is perennial for me here as well, and they do get large and have woody stems. But to be honest, they look nicer as small plants because the woody stems don't grow many leaves so the plants get sort of leggy. They also want to flop over as all the new growth is at the top, generally.
I think you get more tender leaves to use in cooking if you just bring in some cuttings in the fall before the winter chill knocks them back (or knocks them out). Keep the cuttings on a windowsill, and when they get lots of roots, pot them up in little pots. They will grow slowly while the weather is cool, and then take off as soon as it's warm enough outside for you to pot them up and put them out.
