Hollyhocks are an old fashioned cottage garden plant that provide visual height to your garden.  They are considered either biannual or a short-lived perennial. They need full sun and rich, moist soil.  I have my growing in a spot that receives about 6 hours of sunlight a day.  My plant has now been blooming for over 6 weeks and shows no signs of quitting.  Leaving the flowers to seed will help ensure plants for future years as hollyhocks are self-seeders.   Another option is to cut it back to the base after blooms have faded to have it come back for 2-3 years.

I'm hoping that mine will come back next year. ​

Aralia cordata 'Sun King', common name is Golden Japanese Spikenard, is bright chartreuse, stands about 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide plant.  It brightens up any area it might be in, one could say it dominates, or putting it nicer it is a focal plant.  
 
I added this to the front of my vegetable garden for all these reasons.  My vegetables are fenced in and are the first things visitors see when entering our property.  This showy plant keeps the area from looking too utilitarian.  It is placed in a challenging area, since it is right next to a black-topped drive in a 3 foot by 10-foot bed.  I needed a plant that would die completely back in the winter so it does not interfere with snow piles from the drive. 
 
It produces clusters of star-shaped flowers in late summer that add to late flower bouquets.  It does well for me in an area that gets about 6 hours of sun and is advertised as doing well in full sun to full shade.  In other words, it is not picky except that it does not do well if allowed to dry out.  I also have had no trouble with deer nibbling on this one.
 
The University of Arkansas Extension named it the plant of the week in September 2015, a link to their write-up is shown below.  The University of Tennessee named it the plant of the month in May 2016.  Since its introduction in 2000, it has received a lot of positive press. 
 
The downside of this plant is that it suckers, although I have not had a problem with that yet after two years.  The chartreuse color may overwhelm a garden of native plants; this would seem out-of-place.  It is non-native, the common name gives you a clue on that, although there are native Spikenards. 
 
This plant has does its job for the place I had to fill.  I enjoy its brightness and low maintenance requirements.  In the right place, I can recommend this as a plant to try. 
  
For more information:
University of Arkansas Extension 
Missouri Botanical Garden
University of Tennessee