Sure sounds like Bambi is having a feast at your expense. Steve in Stevens County

It's a residential area with Zero deer. Thanks though.

I was going to say deer as well. What part of the Mid Atlantic are you in that doesn't have any deer? They are everywhere. I've even seen them in DC around K St!!!

My vote is for squirrels -- they are acrobatic enough to hang upside down underneath your deck with their little rodent claws and enjoy your hollyhock buds at their leisure. I had the same problem one year with sunflowers I had planted against a fence. Heartbreaking. These happened to be potted sunflowers, so once I moved them two feet away from the fence, the problem was solved. This probably won't help you this year, but maybe you could plant them farther away from the deck next time? Worth a shot, anyway.