There is little joy to be found for folks behind the wheel when driving along the 401 and 402 in Southwestern Ontario unless you appreciate pavement, gravel, highway markers and weeds.

But luckily for me, I am often in the passenger’s seat, and I get to enjoy the wildflowers in September and fall colours in October and November.

Asters, in white and blue, have been strutting their colours through September and will fade by mid-October.

Mostly growing in the center median, asters possess a surprising ability to grow in poor soil with little water. This year, with more summer rain than usual, asters are displaying their colours like never before.

Asters (Symphyotrichum)........

© Sarnia Observer