I’m told these are hollyhocks. I started this week with what I believed to be a hollyhock. My neighbor planted a number of things from seed and then transplanted them here and there among which was a space under the staircase. They seem rather temporary to me, like they will bloom and then never appear again, and perhaps also a bit unreal. They grow on tall stems and flower madly once they’ve begun. These are almost white with a touch of pink and a surprising yellow center. Wikipedia says, “Alcea is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe.” Obviously it says nothing about the staircase, but it also says nothing about how stunningly beautiful they are.