I have some Turk's Cap (a red and a pink) that I got from Lowe's last year. They've survived a year of mostly neglect, including only a couple of supplemental waterings in August (the ones in almost full sun have been a little wilty, but still growing). They grow in sun, part shade, or full shade, and tolerate my clay soil without amendment. This is one of my favorite plants, and it's going to form the backbone of the foundation planting I'll start putting in this fall.
Last year I dug up violets from my mom's yard (where they grow as weeds, but weeds in a well-watered lawn), planted them in dry shade under an ash tree, and babied them for 6 months with lots of water. This year I let them sink or swim on their own, and they've mostly sunk. I hope more of them are dormant than dead, but we'll see in October when the ones that are going to come back do so.
I have some Texas Bluebells (sold as Lisianthus at Home Depot; they're sold as annuals but they're perennials here). More of them have died than not, but I planted them in full sun in late spring and haven't been able to give them much supplemental watering, so it's not their fault.
I grew a variety of baptisias from seed last winter (baptisa bracteata, baptisia alba, baptisia australis, baptisia australis minor). The bracteata has been thriving and everything else has been clinging to life, except for the baptisia australis var. minor, which have all died.
The backyard was full of straggler daisy / horseherb when we moved in, which is a nice little steppable native plant. But the neighbors' St. Augustine grass from either side has been slowly invading and choking it out. I guess I'm OK with that.
