I'm not an expert, so I'd leave things alone and not trample it any more. Maybe throw some ground up leaves on the area, then wait until late spring to see how things are doing.

In our case, raccoons arrived and tried to dig through the new roof to nest. DH nailed hardware cloth around the area they tried to scratch through and this was successful - so far.

stuff happens, as they say.
You could level and spread some compost about. Winter rains will work it in for you.
Watch out for stray nails, usually in a clip these days (nail gun ammo).

Janice, my roof was just replaced 2 weeks ago, with the old cedar shakes torn off first (that was the worst part).

A gardeners nightmare, I must say. I even had 'pay particular attention to protecting plants' written into the contract. My crew was pretty good about afternoon cleanup at end of workday, and went over the property with an ultra strong magnet....I borrowed one and did my own nail patrol each day when they'd gone home for the night.

In a couple of areas that seemed to have gotten more weight/foot traffic, I took a garden fork and inserted the tines, rocked back on it without actually turning soil over. Then spread 3-4" compost (purchased by the bag at Home Depot) to help condition with Fall rains and over winter. And I've extracted a promise from DH that if we ever roof again, it will be on a new house and before we've moved in :)

I had a little breakage, possibly some damage to roots (why did we need tri-pod ladders right in the beds, we've always attending to gutters and downspouts without one), but from what I can see, no real fatalities....Spring will tell.

Gypsum doesn't work that kind of magic. ;-) If the area is large enough to make it worth renting a core-aerator, that is absolutely what I would do, especially if you have any clay in your soil. This piece of equipment pulls little plugs from the ground rather than sticks tines in (which can cause more compaction).

I've seen several different kinds and sizes for rent.

rhizo, you are making that suggestion for the lawn, right? Heaven forbid someone now go into my perennial/shrub beds with an aerator :) I wouldn't recover my slowly returning roofing impaired sanity.
We rent one each Spring and again in Fall some years, did pick one up last weekend...this is a one horse town, and there is only one size core aerator to rent. I followed with an application of Ringer Lawn Restore (organic) and Sunday we had a cooperating deep soaking rain. Truthfully, compared to a clump of Mrs. Betty Ranicar hellebores at $45 ea, the lawn was the least of my concerns.

OT - a gas powered plugging aerator here is $25 per hour with a 2 hour minimum rental time. Working quickly, we can do our lawn, our neighbors lawn, load it into the truck and up the hill to a friends to plug theirs, and have it hosed off and returned in the two hour time frame :)

Hi Gardenbug....not raccoons, but the squirrels have returned to the house (living between the floors). Our house is 100 yrs old and no matter how many we trap and release elsewhere, the population is so great that more end up coming. It's an ongoing battle.
Deep Roots...thanks for the warning!
Morz...Where do you live? Sounds nice. This garden is jam packed with perennials, so to head in with an aerator would be a cruel thing to do.
I need to find a way to loosen the soil without damaging the perennials (roots/crowns)
Rhizo...Part of the area doesn't get much sun, so the soil is especially hard. I may need to put extra mulch down now and hope for the best in the spring.

A few years ago I too had the joy of having our garage reshingled and re-sided, so I know what you're saying.I also used a garden fork and rocked it back and forth to loosen the soil. That combined with the ground freezing and thawing pretty much did the trick. The next spring, things were pretty much back to normal. I also spread some compost before I did the fork trick.

I feel your pain too! They told me they would access the roof primarily from the driveway and the front/rear door areas and they said they would have tarps totally covering the foundation plantings. Didn't happen.

As a matter of fact I was just digging out a plant the other day and found two more nails in the soil!!!

When I had the house painted I had similar issues. Boy, am I glad both those events are over. The garden will recover. I didn't do anything special.

I bought a tool called the claw. I bought it at a hardware store. It has 4 twisted tines and you turn it. As your turn it it loosens the soil. I love it. I have had 3 back surgeries and can not dig and this works so well.

I feel your pain. We had our house sided a few years ago which got delayed to early spring - the worst possible time. We had 2 groups of workers, first the roofers who ripped off the old siding, then the siders. They even trampled my fencing which I used to protect my tulips. Brats. It was a garden disaster. Not to fear though. It's only the top growth that gets destroyed, nothing below. The soil does get pretty compacted. I do not like the "claw" - it doesn't work for me because I'm too short. I can't get enough leverage with it. So I used a long handled cultivator with sharp tines that is along the same idea. It did a nice job loosening the soil. Cut off anything that got broken, and loosen the soil a little. You'll be fine next year.

Nancy - is the "cultivator" you use the same as the "Claw" that Natvtxn recommended? I'm also short, so this might be a good tool for me. Now, where to buy it in Chicago? Home Depot doesn't have much gardening stuff now that the season is slowly ending.
Hostaholic - thanks for the support...I am going to buy some compost for those tough areas.
Wendy - I'll keep a look out for nails and not walk barefoot

The claw is adjustable, it has holes in it so you can move the bolt.

Natvtxn - Thanks! This sounds like a great tool. Hope I can find it around here.

Why do all that work? Just put down the shredded leaves as some have already suggested and let the worms do your work for you!

Do a search and see if you can order it on line.

My claw didn't get short enough for it to be comfortable. I have clay soil and it was difficult breaking through the dirt - certainly nothing like they show in their commercials. I couldn't stand next to it, I had to hover over it and bear down on it. But to each his own, do what works for you. The cultivator I bought is from Lee Valley Tools. Kinda pricey, but WELL worth it. The best cultivator I've ever owned. This puppy is sharp so very little effort is exerted. It's easier for me to work with this type of design.

Here is a link that might be useful: Forged Cultivator