by Nan Sterman

When Bea Gold and her late husband, Jack, bought their hillside Los Angeles home in 1980, their first focus was the house. After a few years, Bea, then in her 50s, zeroed in on the garden.

The garden is large by urban standards, 150 feet long and 90 feet wide. It sits atop the hill beside her home, accessible only by a steep staircase outside the kitchen door. "If I were bringing soil up or mulch," Gold says, "I'd have to roll them up, I couldn't carry them - ever."

Gold, a lifelong gardener, says this new space inspired her to hone her skills. She became a Master Gardener and attended gardening classes at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

She used trees and shrubs to establish the garden's structure and divided flat and sloping surfaces into separate areas. "One thing that makes this garden special is the shape of it," says Gold, now in her eighties. "The little staircases and small paths that define the beds made it work then and now."

Bulbs, perennials, roses and native plants fill the beds - some planted, some the descendents from long ago plantings. "I just go with it, as long as it looks good," she says.

In the early years, Gold did most of the gardening by herself. As she approached her 70s, however, she hired one of her arboretum classmates to help out. "She was there to talk about what I wanted and to work with me," Gold says. "She didn't take over. She did what I wanted done."

Over time, Gold's helper did more and more, especially after Gold fell in the garden and broke her femur. Handing off responsibilities was natural for Gold, who advises, "Don't fight it. Find someone who is compatible with you and work with them."

For 30 years, Garden Concierge LLC in Santa Monica, Calif., has served a wide range of clients, including what owner Aaron Landworth calls "more mature" clients. Landworth's company is often hired by people like Gold, who no longer have the strength or balance to care for their gardens.

Garden Concierge crews prepare and install vegetable gardens for owners who can no longer kneel and plant. They feed and prune ornamental and fruit trees. They deadhead and clean out shrub beds as part of what Landworth calls "garden tune-ups" that get things going in the right direction.

As time goes on, crews are often asked to do other outdoor tasks that elder homeowners struggle with, like changing light bulbs in outdoor fixtures.

Landworth treasures his older clientele. "These clients are not content to hire you, then disappear; they want to watch - though not supervise - and then (they) proceed to share their gardening stories with you," he says. "It makes for a slightly less productive visit but is more than made up for by the enriching experience it becomes. I do consider it a side benefit of working for these types of clients.

Nan Sterman, author of "California Gardener's Guide Volume II," is a gardening expert, communicator and designer who has long grown an organic garden of plants that both feed her family and beautify her yard.