Nodding wild onion, Allium cernuum
 
Nodding wild onion looks good year-round. This short-growing, dainty plant displays its purple flowers in July and August—and they are upside down. In the fall, the seed heads display large, round black seeds. Nodding onion forms clumps and is perfect in many combinations at the front of a flower bed. The leaves are edible. 
 
Ecology:
Because the flowers are nodding, mainly bees and beetles can visit. Even short-tongued bees can access floral resources and visit mainly for nectar.
 
Growing conditions: 
In the wild, nodding onion occurs in meadows, prairies, bluff edges, and open woods. It is a hardy plant that thrives in dry to medium soil and full to partial sun. It is ideal for borders and boulevards and thrives in rain gardens. Plants in the onion family are detested by deer and rabbits and can be used as a living "fence" around vulnerable plants.