Lilacs have long been prized for their sweet fragrance, vivid color between May and June, and their value as shelter for birds and beneficial insects and as food for butterflies. In Columbiana, the decision to create a collection of lilacs in the park also grew from the vision of the park's master planner, Alling DeForest. After the Firestones gave land for the recreational park to the Village of Columbiana, they reserved a large rectangle across from Columbiana Cemetery as the intended burial place for the Firestone family. DeForest envisioned a strong vista between the park's highest point, where the family would have been interred and which is now the Gathering Place, and the cemetery's mausoleum. He called for a Lilac Allee, a formal landscape design lining a straight path with a single species of tree. Because the Firestones ultimately chose burial in the cemetery and gave the remaining land to the park, that plan was never carried out at the time. A brick walkway now links the Gathering Place with the mausoleum, creating both a visual and physical connection to the cemetery. Since shade from nearby mature trees would not allow a traditional lilac allee to thrive, a formal pocket garden was created instead, arranged symmetrically along the walkway with multiple lilac varieties placed in full sun.