Help - Contractor Putting Deck Footings Down Destroyed My Garden

Help – the general contractor I hired to put cement footings down for a steel deck, listened carefully as I asked him to preserve as much of the garden as possible – and then his workers basically destroyed it.  I’m so upset and am almost tempted to fire him, the garden was my pride and joy and it didn’t occur to me that I had to lose all my plants to put down footers for a 8×10 2nd floor deck covering half the width of the property.  I found dirt covering mint and a rose plant on the opposite side of the property (which I’d said shouldn’t be disturbed, it’s a small patch), and after carefully preserving greenery 2 days ago while the GC was present, the workers completely buried it yesterday when the GC wasn’t present.  I have called and emailed the GC but is this just par for the course?  I don’t want to overreact, but the GC didn’t seem to think preserving greenery would be a problem.  When the greenery is covered with 3′ of dirt – it’s obviously a problem.  I’d love to hear from others who have dealt with this.  Any gardeners out there who managed to keep the garden and end up with a raised deck, stairs and a terrace?  Or did you have to grow the garden back once the construction was done?  (the garden was entirely perennials, have been there for 10 years, I’ve been at the house for 6 years, I inherited the garden and it’s only gotten prettier – until now).

We had a deck put in and they started work in the late spring.  I just decided from the beginning that many plants weren’t going to make it.  The guys digging those footing holes have to work really hard (a four foot hole is not easy to dig) and expecting them to be delicate while doing that is probably wishful thinking.  BUT, if your GC thought it was doable, I’d talk to him about it (maybe he’ll cut your a few bucks to replace some things), but I wouldn’t fire him if the actual work on the deck is what you’re expecting.  Luckily for me I hadn’t planted too much since we knew they would be working back there and I didn’t want to set myself up for frustration and the bigger stuff that was there, I didn’t love (planted in poor locations, etc. by previous owner).     We lost our hole back yard (they were also leveling part for hardscaping) and they piled 100s of bags of dirt they dug up all of the yard and we couldn’t use the yard at all while they were working. Now that it’s over, we don’t ever think about that time.  We love the new deck and stone areas, and have planted the yard as we like it.   Get some flagging tape to mark important plants–that might help them notice and realize what to avoid. And stay on your contractor if you’re not happy with something–squeaky wheels and what not.

It wasn’t reasonable to expect that concrete work could be done without damaging the garden, unless some clear boundaries and expectations were set.  When construction workers dig, they go down to the clay.  They could have bagged the soil, and moved it through your house to get rid of it somewhere else, and avoided all the greenery; with proper supervision, that’s the way it would have been done.  Or your contractor could have recommended you dig up and put in containers while the work was being done. So it’s not impossible, it just requires extra steps and care, and the responsibility can’t be with the contruction workers (most of whom can’t tell a rose from a weed.)  The crew should have been directed and supervised.  It’s definitely a valid complaint to make. I wouldn’t ask them to dig out the plants either.  Take pictures, and dig them out gently now, then water.  On Monday, you can ask them to bag the extra dirt and remove it, and make sure they put markers and tape around what must be protected before they go forward.