1206 Montreat Drive, owned by Freddrick Ruffin, is the Master Gardeners Yard of the Month pick for July. Ruffin currently works at NASA and is the music minister at Little Ezekiel Church at Tanner.

On July 1, I woke early to go to the Athens Farmers Market, and afterward thought I would drive around to find the right home for July Yard of the month. While driving through neighborhoods, I noticed the most delightful flowers in this yard that made me smile. I thought, “This yard is kept with love — this is it.”

I knocked on the front door — no answer — knocked on the back door and no answer. I looked at my watch and saw it was only 9:30 a.m. I knocked again and thought, “Oh my, they must still be in bed.” Then, a young man opened the door. I asked if this was his residence. He said yes. I complimented the flowers and said there must be a lady of the house. He said that it had been his grandma’s house and now it is his.

Later that afternoon we sat down to discuss how he became the keeper of the landscape. Ruffin graduated from Athens High in 1997 and moved to Birmingham to go to school at University of Birmingham. While there, he also served in the music ministry at True Love Church. He couldn’t seem to settle on a major, and his mom told him he’d better decide soon or his college days would be over. A friend at church who worked in medicine at UAB asked him to come shadow her for a day. He was so impressed with what he experienced that he decided to get a degree in nuclear medicine. After graduating, he moved to Atlanta to work and also served as the Minister of Music at Greater Shady Grove Church.

In 2019, Ruffin’s stepfather passed, and he decided to move back to Athens to help his mother and grandmother. That is when he found that he had cancer of the stomach. His Grandma passed in 2021, and his Mom four months later in 2022 — all while he was battling cancer. He is thankful that he has now been cancer free for a year.

He talked to his dad about purchasing a home, and his dad told him, “With the prices being so high right now, why not take your Grandmas home?,” which he did. I asked him how he made it through, during those tough few years. He said by the kindness and prayers of others. it was a blessing to move to Athens, because his friends from the past and neighbors took extra time to care for him. He gave the example that he had lost down to 80 pounds and could barely walk when he noticed there was a guy working in his yard one morning. The young man told him that he had extra stone and wanted to line his flower beds by the street to help make it more attractive and lift his spirits. He had another friend who would purchase clothes for him during the illness and would alter them as needed. He had been away so long, but still he was helped and supported by so many by their kind deeds.

When asked about the beautiful flowers, he said he partially grew up in his Grandma’s house and saw how she loved taking care of her flowers. Working in the yard now is therapy. He can go outside and meditate — think of his Mom and Grandma, the memories of joy. It helps sooth his soul and helps keep him from depression. You can see the love he puts into making his front yard attractive from the entrance of the drive to the beds in front of the house.

People helping people is how we should experience life. Go be a light in this world.