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 8x10 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).
This is in NYC in a brownstone - tiny backyard.