Surprising successes

What have you planted or done that turned out to be a startling success?  - pushing the zone, unexpectedly useful etc.

Here's one of mine: I wanted to try Rauli, Sourthern Beech (Nothofagus procera or Nothofagus alpina) I'd read that it might be a good coppice tree for Western Scotland. but the nursery sent me Nothofagus antarctica instead. I planted it anyway, and it has really thrived. It was a strange shape when I got it as quite a large potted tree, and has grown into a sculptural tree, but quite as quickly as any other tree I have planted - it obviously likes it here! I'm not intending to coppice it, as I rather like the shape it is, athough if it starts to get damaged in the wind I may have to do so.
It has leaves like the common beech (Fagus sylvatica) but much smaller, has lots of tiny flowers which the insect love. I've not seen seeds, although they are supposed to be like tiny beech nuts too. It loses it's leaves in autumn and you can really see the twisty branches in winter.

That tree is such a lovely one, as you say a great surprise success.

Plodding through this year, feeling like our Community Garden was only just hanging on, and getting such a lot of good feedback has been my most recent surprise success I think. It feels like making "stone soup" (from the folktale): https://permies.com/t/262302/Plot-community-forest-garden

Of course, the other favourite one, I share with you: Nancyberries! We think they were an accidental cross with Ben Sarek blackcurrants & a green gooseberry in your old garden, I believe?

Ac Baker wrote:Of course, the other favourite one, I share with you: Nancyberries! We think they were an accidental cross with Ben Sarek blackcurrants & a green gooseberry in your old garden, I believe?

Yes - we don't know really, as the original was a seedling growing in between the paving slabs in the pathway, but big, juicy, blackcurrant like berries...pity it didn't seem to like Skye much; grew well but never fruited more than a little.