That purple-flowered plant you are seeing in yards and vacant lots around town is dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis). Often when people start mowing their yards they encounter this nice flower blooming, it looks so much like someone intended for it to be there that they spare it from the lawn mower and the weed whacker. This dame's rocket is near 8th St. in Lafayette. The pictures were taken May 17, 2009. That was the first day I noticed any Hesperis flowering around here.
Dame's rocket has the typical form of the crucifer family of plants, four petals to each flower and farther down the stem, the siliques (seed pods) sticking out. If your purple flower has five petals, more likely it's a phlox, it's not dame's rocket.
Link to Hesperis matronalis:
Link to Hesperis matronalis:
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