This top actress, a lover of gardening, owns a farm that has been in her family since the ’30s. The actress’s mother revealed how her parents came to buy the land, tend to it, and passed it from one family member to another. The actress has converted the land, and it now produces organic supplies for kids’ foods. It is also a place she hopes her kids will also love.
This movie star is known for starring in award-winning films, but when she isn’t busy being an actress, she spends her time on her family’s farm, which she bought in 2017. On this farm, she leads a slower-paced life of gardening.
The actress advocates for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. As a lover of gardening, she sees the action as her way of connecting with the earth, planting and nurturing plants, and promoting wholesome living.
The actress’s grandparents, Harvey Newton and Violet Margaret Sayre English, bought a 20-acre plot of land in 1936 in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, for only $700. The actress’s mom shared that the land was bought in the middle of the Great Depression when her father was a laborer, but no one was hiring.
However, Harvey was a World War I veteran and was given a veteran’s bonus. The actress’s grandparents had never had their own place, so they knew if they were to have a place to call theirs, they had to use the bonus to buy it.
At the time, the movie star’s grandparents didn’t even own her car, so, when they heard about a land that was on sale, they hired someone to drive them to the estate.
Upon arrival, the actress’s grandparents found that the land was bare except for a two-bedroom farmhouse, which they spent hours haggling over for $20. This property didn’t have running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing in the ’30s. Electricity was finally added in 1945.
However, the farm was abundant in other ways. The land was very rich, and the actress’s grandfather always planted a garden. At first, they planted radishes, leaf lettuces, new potatoes, and English peas. Cucumbers, beets, onions, green peas, and tomatoes were planted over the summer.
Native pecan trees were a source of income and provided yummy treats to the family. Most of the family’s meat came from the reared chicken, cows, and pigs. Over the years, this family land has changed hands. The actress’s mother noted that it was left untended and uncared for over 40 years.
In the spring of 1962, Harvey died, and the actress’s grandmother sold the land to her mother’s older brother, James, and his wife, Helen. Harvey and his wife had added 35 acres to the farm during the time they owned it by buying adjoining tax-title land.
James built a barn and fenced the property, and in 2008, he sold the land to the brother of the actress’s mother, Robert, and his wife Janet. The couple built a modern house on the farm. Then, in 2017, the “Daredevil” actress decided to buy the land where her mom grew up.
The movie star in 1999. | Source: Getty Images
The top actress in this story is Jennifer Garner, whose mother is Patricia Garner. She purchased the family land with the understanding that her uncle and aunt would continue living there and looking after it.
The actress had plans to give the farm a new life. She converted it into a nature lover’s haven. The land is now home to Jennifer’s uncle Robert and his wife Janet.
Robert holds lots of stories about the land as he used to pester Jennifer’s grandparents to tell them. He and his wife grow organic produce and are the supplier of products for “Once Upon A Farm,” Jennifer’s children’s food range.
The main aim of this children’s food range is to supply organic fruits and veggies that can be used as baby food. The products are harvested by local farmers and served fresh from the fridge.
The website assures parents that they will get food blended with love and have less to worry about as they can feed their little ones these products to give them the essential nutrients they need.
Jennifer often gives her followers on Instagram a glimpse into “Once Upon A Farm.” On December 9, 2023, she shared a hilarious video of her having a company holiday party with the cows as she was feeding them.
The actress also posted another video on September 3, 2023, harvesting blackberries from the farm as she munched on some.
In another video shared on her Instagram, the actress celebrated Robert on National Farmer’s Day, revealing the abundant pumpkin harvest collected from the expansive farm’s pumpkin patch.
Jennifer’s farm means a lot to her not only because of how well she has converted it today but also because it holds her family’s memories and histories. “I feel like my sisters and I have been so shaped by our mom’s upbringing. This is just part of our childhood,” an emotional Jennifer said.
Now, as she works with “Once Upon A Farm,” she loves the idea of connecting kids to a farm and that this land gets to be her family farm. Before she started planting on the farm, nothing had been growing there for a while, so Jennifer was assured the soil was organic and had no pesticides.
Jennifer is also glad her kids will experience more than just city life. The actress’s kids will experience the joy, freedom, silliness, and hard work that comes with living on a farm. She hopes to instill in them the work ethic that her grandparents, her mother, and her siblings learned from tending to their farm.