Lilac Stroll Garden

Lilac Stroll Garden. Alling DeForest.

"Earth laughs in flowers…" , Ralph Waldo Emerson

, Throughout history, lilacs have been crowd-pleasers. Perhaps it is their sweet fragrance. Almost certainly it is the riot of color they provide between May and June. As an added bonus, they offer shelter for birds and beneficial insects and food for butterflies. These are good reasons to include a collection of lilacs in the Park, but perhaps the most compelling came from understanding the thoughts of the Park's master planner, Alling DeForest., Rebirth of a Vision , When the Firestones gave the land for the recreational park to the Village of Columbiana, they kept a large rectangle of land across from the Columbiana Cemetery to serve as the final resting place for the Firestone family. Alling DeForest dreamt of creating a strong vista between the park's highest point - where the Firestone family would have been interred (now the Gathering Place) - and the Cemetery's mausoleum., He described his vision as a Lilac Allee, a formal landscape design concept that lines a straight pathway with a single species of tree., Since the Firestones eventually decided to be buried in the Cemetery and gave the rest of the land for the park, Mr. DeForest's vision was never realized., Until now. A brick walkway links the Gathering Place with the Mausoleum and offers both a visual and physical connection to the Cemetery. Unfortunately, the shade patterns of adjacent mature trees would not permit a traditional allee of lilac to thrive. Instead, a formal pocket garden symmetrically embraces the walkway and places multiple varieties of lilac where they are happiest - in full sun. We hope Mr. DeForest is pleased.