Plants will tell you when something in their environment is not in harmony, and they did... The historic gardens paled in comparison the accounts of its beauty in the archives. PHMC Horticulturalist Alexis Evans, aka Lex, noted localized nutrient deficiency and toxicity symptoms with widespread fungal diseases at Old Economy's gardens when arriving in 2024. This, along with dark, minute particle garden soils mixed with rock/pea gravel, were found in many areas. The soil structure often appeared to be poor in terms of water penetration and water holding capacity. This observation along with the documented shift toward favoring turf grass, and the products often applied to lawns, were elements of this research and part of the complaint from the gardens. We must also consider the past to understand the present state of landscapes and many in the greater Pittsburgh area display impacts from the steel, coal and other industrial operations. These operations resulted in soil contamination from heavy metals and some still exist or have been established in recent years. With the past use of leaded gasoline, CCA, lead paint and other agricultural products, many properties will see some accumulation of heavy metals. Our region's soil has been impacted by these sources as well as pollution from urbanization which compounds with these past contaminant sources.

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The apparent imbalance of overall soil chemistry and decline in plant health more than likely became critical following decades of nutrient buildup, soil degradation and decimation of overall canopy coverage onsite as trees failed to thrive. Based on documentation, the destabilization of this system appears to have begun exponentially increasing in the late 90s/early 2000s. This period became one of considerable interest as it may provide clues about what practices our region should and should not consider such as pest management and lawn fertilization as well as species selection for our landscapes.