Clematis is one of mine as well. I had tried several bare-roots at my old house in Albuquerque, and they'd never come back the next year. Then a few years ago I saw a bunch of really healthy ones fresh off the truck at WalMart of all places. I planted them (Niobe & Snow Queen), and they returned every year after that.

Also in Albuquerque, I planted Pinapple Sage, which is supposed to be an annual there, but it always came back for me. It died to the ground in winter, but it came back bigger and stronger each year.

Gold Dust plant: Aucuba japonica 'Variegata'. Darn thing looks tropical, thick green and gold leaves. They looked wilted, but still colored over the winter and when spring, sprung they re-inflated and it started pushing new growth.

cool looking plant...I wonder what the flowers look like, though

Asian Persimmon, kiwis, figs, passionflowers....I've got lots of these...

~Chills

A Sunny Border Blue Veronica that I bought from Bluestone. It came as such a pathetic small thing, and was planted in my bed that is mostly clay. The first year I thought it was a goner then poof! Up comes this wonderful plant and today is my best perennial ever!

I finally got Hakonechloa, Japanese Forest grass, to overwinter.

A little surprise after this winter, Carex Toffee Twist survived. I guess I will enjoy it for another year.

Chills, I love Aucuba! I had several at the other house. We used them as foundation shrubs on the north side of the house, and they loved it there. I remember the first winter when they turned black, I thought that was it. But they greened right back up in the spring! I don't remember a flower on them.

My biggest surprise came this past year, and it was that I could grow something from seed. I had never tried any seeds before, outside of morning glories on my mailbox. I always thought seed starting would be too hard and high-maintenance for me. I tried winter sowing last year and have been amazed at how many successes I've had! The seedlings have been up for weeks now and I haven't killed anything yet! :D

Not an 'it survived', but still a great surprise.

I cleaned out and cut back two Clematis which had been growing together for the last 5 years. When I got to the bottom, I noticed some stems had decided to do the layering thing and I removed 3 root bundles of Hagley Hybrid and 5 of Claire De Lune. BONUS!!!

Delphinium butterfly blue that did not come back the second year but came back the third season. I'm assuming some seeds lay dormant for a whole year? I have another one that bloomed like crazy last year and is back for more this year

When I first saw some of the new varieties of the supposedly heat-tolerant fuchsias come on the market a few years ago, I was very skeptical. I bought one small, inexpensive one in the spring of 2007 just as an experiment with very low expectations, and to my amazement, it not only survived, but has prospered, So far, they have been utterly untroubled by heat, humidity, winter cold, and even a fair amount of drought. I've since acquired several more of them and now have them sprinkled all over the yard. They do very well in dry-ish partial shade, and in those conditions, require virtually no care. They produce a succession of gorgeous pink & purple flowers all summer and fall, and late in the season they even have some decorative purple berries. I've had no serious problems with any kinds of pests or insects attacking them, and they are just as happy as can be, seemingly no matter what. Who'd have thought? For those of you in Zones 7 and 8 in the South, I highly recommend them. The best one in my experience is the one called Angels' Earrings Cascading, or 'Sanihanf.' Simply superb, and a wonderful surprise.

Like others, I wasn't sure I could grow clematis but I've got a dozen growing here and there and all are thriving. I was determined to try growing them because my mother loved them. She was convinced she couldn't grow them but I found one down in a corner of the garden that now blooms profusely since I cleared the weeds away from it.
Another leap of faith is daphne. I have the perfect spot for it so I planted a tiny one from Bluestone Perennials and this is its 3rd year. I mulch it over the winter but other than that it gets no pampering.
Another Bluestone winner is Lenten rose. It has tripled in size since I planted it last May.

I definitely have a differnt attitude, lol. I expect everything to come back!

Although I was surprised to see jolly bee and rozanne come back after a late summer planting and being munched to the ground in early fall by rabbits....all of them came back.

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one afraid of clematis!

My daughter gave me a small red fern leaf peony she dug in the yard of a rental she bought. It was dug in the fall and lay in her garage in a plastic bag all winter. She found them in the spring and sent me one. That was 3 years ago. It is blooming right now. A great save!!

Flowergirl, that reminds me of one of my saves from about 18 years ago. Digging in my perennial bed, I accidentally dug into a calla lily bulb and sliced it in half. I was sad, but the lily had never bloomed anyway, so I tossed it into the corner between the house and chimney under some hosta leaves to compost. The next summer I had three beautiful calla lilies. It's amazing how they can survive.

Gaura("Whirling butterflies") has never survived the winter for me. I've just considered it an annual and buy it only if I can find it for a real good price. This spring.... !suprise! it survived the winter!

Butterfly Bushes!
Last year a friend gave me two tiny seedlings ..about 2" tall, all smashed somehow during transportation.
I just spotted them yesterday. They've grown to about 3"!
I hope they'll bloom this year. :-)

What a great question/topic!

I received a Arisaema sikokianum in a pot as a gift several years ago from a plant-friend with special instructions regarding soil and care, etc. It remained in the pot longer than it should have, and I did not follow all of the instructions, but it has thrived every year since. It is an amazing plant -- will post pics when it reaches its "peak". ;)

Also, I planted a very sad-looking Geranium 'Perfect Storm' late last year -- and it's coming up!

This weekend I wanted to buy a replacement Nelly Moser Clematis that a rabbit had munched on last fall. I have a Nelly Moser at each side of an arbor. When at the store they didn't have a Nelly Moser so I bought one that was close - I figured I just move it when I found a Nelly Moser. When digging the hole for the replacement, I dug up the old one and sure enough a very small green leaf. I prepared the hole with fresh compost and replanted it!! I hope it makes it!!

I planted an Acanthus spinosus in summer or fall several years ago. I assumed it was dead the next spring when it went missing in action.
It took an entire year off, and returned the following spring. It took a while to figure out what it was.
A great plant, in my top ten, and it was definitely worth waiting an extra year for.
On the other hand, I once planted a disporum which also took a year off. It has returned, and is extremely vigorous. But I really don't like it much.