Think the age and where your caregiver comes from every day don’t really matter? Think again! Meet the neighbors, Seniors who Garden together in Manhattan Beach. Every Seniors Helping Seniors® South Bay match starts with two people from the same community. This month, meet a retired teacher and the gardener-next-door she visits twice a week — and hear why both say they look forward to Tuesdays.
Clara, a 78-year-old retired high school English teacher living in Manhattan Beach, always loved her backyard rose garden. However, arthritis eventually made it impossible for her to prune the bushes or bend down to weed the soil. The garden grew wild, and Clara found herself spending less time outside, missing the vibrant colors that once brought her so much peace.
Everything changed when she was matched with Elena, a local landscape enthusiast from Hermosa who lives just a few miles away. Elena joined the Seniors Helping Seniors® South Bay caregiver network to share her passion for nature with fellow seniors in her own neighborhood. Now, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, the duo can be found working side-by-side in Clara’s yard, enjoying the cool South Bay coastal breeze. Elena handles the heavy lifting, digging, and bending, while Clara guides the placement of new annuals and shares her decades of local gardening wisdom.
“Tuesdays have become the highlight of my week,” Clara says, smiling as she holds a fresh bunch of cut lavender. “Elena doesn’t just clip the hedges; she brings life back into my yard and gives me someone to share my stories with. I feel useful again. We found out we’ve been going to same nursery for years and never met…it’s wonderful to have someone local and closer to my age that I can count on and relate to.”
The benefit of Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home care goes both ways. Elena finds immense fulfillment in these shared afternoons. “I originally thought I was just volunteering to help an elder maintain her property,” Elena reflects. “But Clara has taught me so much about patience, literature, and local history. I leave every visit feeling completely grounded. We aren’t just caregiver and client anymore…we are neighbors and true friends.”