Whenever I hire a professional to work on my house, I'm filled with trepidation. We've all heard the horror stories about jobs that, after they're started, are extended so much that they go weeks or even months past the agreed-upon deadline; about workers who are disrespectful; about corners being cut; about shoddy workmanship; and about owners not understanding the vision the customer has in mind, and/or the end product not resembling that vision. Sacred Space Gardens allayed all those fears, and proved to be one of the best companies we've ever worked with. We have a standard-size Inner Parkside backyard that, until a few months ago, was a "yard" in name only. It contained only a completely overgrown mass of weeds and a small wooden gazebo-like frame that was too short for anyone to stand beneath. After many years of hemming and hawing, and based on recommendations from neighbors on Nextdoor, we finally hired Chris at Sacred Space Gardens to help us. We had a vision but no details. We knew that we wanted the weeds and a diseased tree removed and replaced with low-maintenance plants; we wanted a full patio; we needed the wooden structure taken down; we envisioned a small side patio in a warm spot of the yard for reading; and we hoped for a tiny area in which our small dog could do his business. Chris - who is always on time - met with us a few times to hear about our ideas and commit them to paper. He suggested a flagstone patio, a surrounding stone seating wall, a wooden pergola-like frame to replace the one being torn down, a flagstone reading area, artificial turf for our dog, multiple varieties of plants, a number of pathways, a drip/sprinkler system, and a nighttime lighting system. We took virtually all of his suggestions and hired him without even talking to anyone else. The two workers from Sacred Space Gardens (Lobsang [the construction manager] and Mr. Salvador), fixtures in our yard for many weeks, were a dream. I sort of miss them. They were friendly and professional, got along with each other famously, were always on time, worked incredibly hard, and cut no corners. Everything they did was artistic and rock-solid. We've rarely seen such knowledgeable attention to detail. They were also, by the way, very strong. Because there is no long, straight way to transport things from the garage into the backyard, they had to hand-carry everything, including dozens and dozens of heavy cement bags, one at a time through our downstairs hallway and laundry room. The schedule did run a couple of weeks long, but it was in no way anyone's fault. We had some unforeseen problems, including rain delays, and our soil turned out to be so riddled with rock that Lobsang and Mr. Salvador had to drill away at the rock for days in order to prepare the soil for planting. In the end, our yard turned out to be much more beautiful than we ever imagined. The patios, the stonework, the plants, and even our dog's area are stunning. We feel like we're in Paradise out there. So I am giving Sacred Space Gardens 5 stars, although I wish I could give them 6 for exceeding expectations. Two notes: We have not yet used the garden maintenance services offered by Sacred Space Gardens because the plants are so young that we don't need monthly maintenance yet. That may happen down the road, in which case I will update this review. My photos, then, are not doing justice to what the yard will eventually look like because the trees and plants will get much bigger and the ground cover will be much more spread out. Secondly, the whole process was not cheap. If you are looking for inexpensive "quick-and-dirty" work in your yard, you may want to go elsewhere. Chris is all about quality, and that's what we wanted. Quality, reliability, respect, and an artistic touch, and we got all of that. Now I need to go stare at the yard for an hour, because that's what I continue to do on a regular basis. read more

See all

Our experience with Sacred Space was awful from start to finish. First, it took them as long as a month to respond to our emails or calls. Last fall after our initial contact, we couldn't get in touch with anyone for weeks to at least sign a contract, get a drawing, and be informed of a start date. When we finally got communications, they were impersonal form letters addressed "To clients," not our names. I don't think they ever learned our names. As for the landscaping, the plants were badly chosen, the work was sloppy and amateurish, and the irrigation left plants dry and yellowing. The mulch that was laid was thin and dirty and allowed weeds to quickly spout. Many plants turned out to be not deer resistant and were quickly eaten. Others were too puny to survive. The "ground-cover," we later learned, would take five years to fill out, if it even survived because the spouts were so tiny. And the end result: A "landscaping" that was mostly dirt with a few green things sticking up here and there and a lot of weeds. But this was not the worst of it. When the pandemic hit, it is understandable that the maintenance we had ordered did not happen. Then, a month or two after the restriction on outdoor services was lifted, three of the young women showed up for a few hours to "weed." Mostly, they chatted and laughed with each other. We could hear them from the house. The three did not bother to weed the back area, which was the most weedy. That slope was too steep, they complained. The trio also did not address the dryness of some areas. Even so, we received a bill for this maintenance of $945. Broken down, this amount paid each of the three workers $90 an hour for a couple of hours of socializing. To be fair, I don't think they were intentionally slacking off but just are not knowledgeable and are unaware of their ignorance. After that, we discontinued our relationship with Sacred Space and looked for a landscaper or gardener who could fix the mess. During the interview process, candidates politely shook their heads at the faulty irrigation, deer-friendly plants, and expanses of dirt. Fortunately, we were able to find a wonderful, very knowledgeable gardener who is methodically fixing each problem. What a difference! read more

I can't recommend Chris Hurley and his team at Sacred Space Gardens highly enough. I interviewed a dozen different landscapers and contractors for an innovative gardening project. Where others saw the limitations of the yard and patio space, Chris saw the potential. He took the time to explain how to find and interview different landscapers and gardeners to find the person best suited for the job, had great follow up skills, turned in a well organized bid and thorough proposal before any of the others, and worked hard to accommodate my schedule. His team are all polite, experienced, conscientious and hard working which wasn't surprising since Chris does a background check on all his employees and pays them a fair living wage. Chris was involved at every step to ensure my complete satisfaction. Sacred Space Gardens does not use chemicals and only uses organic and biological controls. Where there was once a bare patio space, there is now a stunning bamboo garden with an automatic irrigation system and effect lighting. The finished product has far exceeded my expectations and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Chris Hurley to anyone who is looking for an organized, experienced garden designer to create the garden of his or her dreams. read more

Chris Hurley made me popular I live in a SF high rise where more than 5 different Gardner's have disappointed us over the years. Chris is an artist who created and operates a mindful and proficient landscaping company. Chris and his crew changed our bldg with a landscaping that speaks for itself. Our front street and rear patio gardens are alive: colorful and. manicured. The bldg keeps thanking me for the recommendation but it is Chris and his personal qualified crew that transformed our garden spaces that we appreciate daily...a gift that keeps on giving. And BTW Chris's fee saves us money that is being invested to improve our gardens. read more

We hired Chris for a very small project as it was what we were able to afford, and it always felt like since we were such a small project, we got no real attention or communication (we needed some planters boxes done right at the front of the house). He also tried to overcharge us, it seems. Basically, the service was really slow and communication was lacking (very non-responsive, had to email and call several times to get a response). We wanted help understanding what plants we were getting, and just got a list with an assurance that everything would look good. Once things were planted, they tried to charge us for more than the original contract stated--either he just made a simple mistake, or thought he could get away with it, not clear which. After the planting, some plants died off pretty quickly. Not sure why--if it had to do with the watering and tending we did (based on their instructions, I freely admit we were newbies to looking after our plants) or if it had anything to do with the quality of plants they purchased for us. Too bad, wish the experience had been better. read more

Because I had so much work done over several months with Sacred Space Gardens, I can give an unqualified thumbs up to this highly proficient landscaper, Chris Hurley. First of all, designing both the front and back gardens was a great experience. Chris listened to my ideas and then took them and made them better. Not only were the workers always on time, interesting to talk to, and highly skilled, I just had a very good feeling from them. When the project was finished, I simply could not believe how wonderful it all was---a mini Golden Gate park in my tiny back yard. A side bonus: it was a good way to meet my neighbors, who enjoy stopping to talk to me about how beautiful my front garden is. read more

I was a nervous customer, who wanted a solid gold garden on a tin foil budget. Chris worked with me on putting together a yard that worked for us for within our budget. He had ideas for addressing some oddities of our garden and making them look "on purpose." He also took a lot of thought in making it child-and-dog friendly. We (and our friends and family) cannot believe the transformation from dark, dank, and foreboding to welcoming. I can't stop showing it off, and I want to spend all our time there. We've just hired the firm to do maintenance so hopefully it will stay as gorgeous and winning as it is now. I'll be sure to update. read more

It has taken me years to write this review, or to get over the experience we had with this landscape contractor. We hired him for a pretty big job, basically a rip out and re-scape back yard. I had been thinking about how I'd want it done for years so I thought I was pretty clear on what I wanted, but I also wanted to collaborate, share and bounce ideas off the peeps we hired. What ended up happening is main guy coming in with his design, plant selection and foreman and laborers doing the work. Sometimes communicating between themselves, sometimes not. They oversold us on things we didn't really need, such as a 5-valve irrigation system and outdoor lights. All of which had to have control boxes and valves installed. That wasn't communicated prior to signing the contract and they put them where they thought best without consulting us first. I was pretty ticked off but said just leave it all where it is, I'll just deal with once you're gone, and believe me, we wanted them gone after it dragged on for a few weeks too many. Don't get me wrong, the workers were all pleasant and polite enough. But the proprietor just showed up for his checks. We all knew the weather in my neighborhood was extreme so we had to plan accordingly. I had done my research and had a list of some plants I wanted, but the majority were his choice. The plant selection was so-so. Some of them survived, some did not. He said he backed his plants but when push came to shove he balked. It got ugly. Long story short is we had to replant our choice. Three years later the plants we put in are doing well. I would never hire a contractor again to do this job. I would try and find carpenters, and landscapers who wanted to collaborate with the owner more, and not try to over-sell big $$ things like irrigation (which you don't really need in Pacifica) and other such fluffy nonsense. I really wanted to give 2.5 stars, but if I had to average out rating based on several factors, including the overall general improvement of our outdoor space it would be more than a 2, and you can't do half stars. 3 stars is stretching it here. But I cannot say I'd recommend them read more

This is a review for the maintenance team at Sacred Space Gardens. They are hardworking, do a wonderful job, are nice and easy to work with. I wish I had found them to do all the work on our yard, but as it is, we are lucky to have found them for the maintenance. Thanks Anna! read more

We just had a great experience working with Chris and his team at Sacred Space Gardens. They installed some impressive and attractive retaining walls to shore up our yard, a french drain at the bottom for runoff, and created some interest by combining two of the levels into a yard and adding planter boxes angled towards the hillside. The weather was largely cooperative and the entire job was done in 2 weeks instead of 3. This was even more impressive since the main access to our yard is through our house and down two levels of stairs. The crew was extremely polite, timely, efficient, and professional. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend SSG. read more