Damage is as Damage Does

Last autumn my landlord felt compelled to cover the outside of a window that was already covered by sheetrock on the inside. Apparently my building has several of these sheetrock covered windows. So without warning, workers went in to cover the window, maybe inspired by a recent Buildings Dept. visit, I don't know. They went into the side garden one day, then another, still unfinished. Then went in again. Maybe four different days they went into the garden to "fix" this window. Each day littering the garden with more debris and grinding more plants into the ground. Really, this is a 1 hour job at most.

Very upsetting. And there was little I could do. I tried to dig up what I could and move it out of the way. Here's a photo of what remains of the side garden this spring. You can see they wore down a path.


And this is the best part: after all that "work" they actually put the siding over the window backwards so that the shingles do not shed water but invite it into the building.


I have anxiety about fixing this garden because now the landlord is contemplating having the building vinyl sided by some of the same guys. I can only imagine the destruction this will do to both the front and side gardens. We are thinking of putting portable planters in the spot so they can be moved when the workers arrive. That means we'll need to find new homes for some of our plants. Maybe there will be some neighborhood takers.