Hi there: The 'pods' are poppy buds. It is probably an oriental perennial poppy whose buds take that form. They straighten up when about to open. The other plants are some sort of lily - my hunch is a daylily or Hemerocalis. They produce scapes, each bearing lots of flowers. They only last one day but as the plant matures, more and more scapes are produced so one plant may flower for several weeks. Both of these plants die back in the winter and then re-grow in the spring, that's why you don't know where they came from. These are two of my favourite plants.
Northerner.

Again, I don't mean to disagree but this looks more like an annual poppy which tends to seed itself in clumps. It doesn't look like Orential leaves although I can't swear to that as Orientals will seed in clumps also. Enjoy !

Posieh, it's fine to disagree. In fact, I think you are correct. The reason I suggested Oriental is because that's the only one I have and the buds do have that form. But I did not look at the foliage, and it doesn't match mine. By the way, mine produces lots of seeds, but they are very difficult to germinate. It's an old heirloom variety which spreads vigorously by its roots. It's made a nice clump and I don't find them all over my yard.