That was two years ago. The white-haired man is Nicolai "Nic" Miljevich. And the orchard has been thriving since.

"We call Nic the orchard angel," said Dyer, who has volunteered to manage the church's property for four years.

It is not surprising Miljevich, 78, has a green thumb. He grew up around orchards. His family came from Serbia in 1880 and settled in Saratoga. He still lives in the house where he was born. There is even a street in Saratoga that is named after his family.

"When I was a kid, there were only 15 houses along Highway 9. We grew up taking care of fruit trees and cattle," he said. "I saw the valley swallowed up by developers and homebuilders."

Miljevich said he wanted to talk to someone in the church long before he approached Dyer that day two years ago.

"I drove up and down the road four times a week to visit friends and I saw these great apricot trees were dying. I wanted to help but I knew to keep my nose out of other people's business," he said. "But Tom seemed to be a nice guy so I asked him if I could help them with the trees."

St. Jude's apricot orchard may be the last testimony of Cupertino's agricultural past.

The church, like the valley, used to be blanketed with apricot trees. After buying the property in the 1970s and constructing four buildings on the land, the church retained some of the old apricot trees. About eight years ago, every family of the church bought and planted an apricot tree to replace the old ones. The church has about 50 apricot trees, 10 cherry trees and an apple tree.

"We have always wanted to create a living oasis but the problem is that none of us know how to take care of the trees," Dyer said. "Some people said tending the trees was a waste of time and energy and we should just let them die."

Then Nic came along.

Miljevich visits the orchard four times a week. Unlike most gardeners, Miljevich dresses up when he visits the orchard because he likes to visit the ladies at the Cupertino-Sunnyvale Senior Day Service after pruning the trees. On one recent visit, he wore a pair of snakeskin boots, a turquoise bracelet and a blue Hawaii shirt, with the open collar exposing his chest hair.

Although he's had triple bypass surgery, his right knee replaced and has a pacemaker, he remains tireless when it comes to gardening. Even though he has to walk with crutches now because of his recent hip replacement surgery, he visits the orchard when he can get a ride.

Miljevich tells a tree's age by studying its branches. He runs his fingers on a tree's bark softly as if he were touching a baby. "Trees are like children. You don't put them in a drawer and forget about them," he said. "It is all about effort and care."