The one I'm growing is Tithonia 'Torch', which is about 5' tall now. That's an awful lot of coarse-looking foliage before you finally get to some flowers. Until it bloomed, the neighbors must have thought it was a giant weed! Your Tuscon neighbor's yard probably looked overgrown at first, and then gorgeous thereafter, especially when it attracts tons of butterflies. That's the kind of display that people will look forward to each year.
I'm working on using the flowers as cut flowers. The hollow stems kind of collapse and flop over after a day or two, so I think they need to have a skewer or something inside for support. The deep orange color really pops in an arrangement, though.