What *IS* That?

Driving home from the doctor this afternoon, about a mile from home I spotted several of these purple flowers along a side road.  Naturally, I was attracted, and fortunately, the light was good and there was a place to pull off easily and safely.  

What I should have done is use Google to snap the picture and identify the wildflower.  Thanks to that lack of foresight, the ID had to wait until now.

Answer:  "Ornamental onion", or allium.