Cichorium intybus (Asteraceae)
More than any other flower, Chicory epitomizes the height of summer for me. In the days when I had a long commute, I loved to see the slender blue blossoms on the side of the highway in July. There would be a few joyous days, maybe a week or two, and then road crews would appear and cut back what the Massachusetts Department of Transportation clearly viewed as a nuisance.