Mixed Blessing

The Robert Smaus column on the impact of remodeling on his garden (“It’s Not Too Late to Build a Careful Bond With Nature,” Dec. 7) explained what happened to our side yard garden when we added a bedroom.

The azaleas and a hydrangea suffered, and I didn’t know what went wrong, since I felt I was really babying them through the remodeling process. So it was the alkaline stucco debris. The bushes have rebounded, though.

HEIDI SNIVELY

Manhattan Beach

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