The girls lived on a fixed income--always having trouble paying for unexpected things that needed repairing/replacing, yet they (https://thegoldengirlsreviewed.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/episode-8-vacation/) could afford (https://tjwest3.com/2019/09/19/the-great-golden-girls-marathon-vacation-s2-ep-8/) a Japanese gardener?

In Florida you definitely need a gardener. The episode where Dorothy needs leg surgery, she sneaks in the house and mentions the lawn sprinklers. That's very realistic living in Florida. So its necessary and common to have landscapers and gardeners for older women who cant cut the grass and trim the trees.
I dont think he was hired because he was Japanese. He was a gardener who just happened to be Japanese and they made a few jokes about it.

It is very realistic for four elderly women to have a gardener. Imagine one of them mowing the lawn or trimming hedges? That's one of their necessities.

I was told by my best friend who moved to Florida in 1994 that they don't grow grass there. They use fake grass or something that looks and feels like grass that doesn't need to be cut...

I was told by my best friend who moved to Florida in 1994 that they don't grow grass there. They use fake grass or something that looks and feels like grass that doesn't need to be cut...
I live in Florida and can assure you that all the grass is real. I cut my grass every week. There are some houses where they do use a very expensive fake grass that is usually allowed in the back yards around swimming pools. No HOA or city would allow someone to install fake grass in their front yard.

He only lasted for one episode so I don't think he got paid too much. :lol:

I didn’t realize he was played by Keye Luke (Kung Fu).

Not only was he Chinese, but he spoke fluent English.

What I think is that he wasn't at their house every day and took care of other people's gardens too.
So the girls did not pay his whole salary.