Front garden, has come up in two patches in the garden as if they were strategically planted. However, I have been told they are weeds by mother. To weed or not to weed?

Where do you live? Boy, I'm not sure I'd want to go against my mother. Gene

I live in ohio

looks like it has square stems?

At first they were coming up like black eyed Susan or coneflower. But the leaves quickly changed to not be that. They are currently around 2ft high. Again, they came up where weed barrier was put down in patches that make it appear that they were purposely put there.

No, the stems are round. If you click the picture, you can see a close up of the plant in good detail and of what looks like buds showing as well.

The bud shape makes it look like a campanula , but there are so many of them hard to tell which one.

The bud looks like campanula but the leaves are too big..

I agree , that is what I thought also but the garden soil and conditions change the growth pattern of normal wildflowers. The wildflowers in my garden are easily twice the size as those grown in my wild areas.
You may just have to wait for a bloom

@Jjfoster27 -- well, I was told by a horticulturist "if you like it, then it is not a weed".

Looks like an Oenothera to me. Oenothera biennis does grow in Ohio. The leaves look more like my orange flowering Oenothera, so who knows it could have been planted. I personally like them and they are easy care. But it's a wild guess, I've never even been to Ohio, LOL.
Dee

It reminds me of lobelia.

So, it is starting to bloom!

No, the stems are round. If you click the picture, you can see a close up of the plant in good detail and of what looks like buds showing as well.

It may be this.

I have a large patch of ladybells and they are a low ground cover about 6'' then shoot up flowering spikes. The flowers look a whole like the photo but my plant has a lot fewer leaves.