Jennifer Garner advocates for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. The actress, who is a lover of gardening, sees the action as her way of connecting with the earth, planting and nurturing plants, and promoting wholesome living.
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Jennifer 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.
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Jennifer’s grandparents, Harvey Newton and Violet Margaret Sayre English, bought the 20-acre plot of land in 1936 in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, for only $700. The actress’s mom, Patricia Garner, told Southern Living that the land was bought in the middle of the Great Depression when her father was a laborer, but no one was hiring.
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Jennifer Garner in a farm full of sunflowers | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
However, Harvey was a World War I veteran and was given a veteran’s bonus. Patricia’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, Jennifer’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.
Jennifer Garner at the “Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” Press Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on September 28, 2014. | Source: Getty Images
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Upon arrival, Jennifer’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.
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Patricia and Jennifer Garner on a video dated August 14, 2018 | Source: Youtube.com/@southernliving
Jennifer Garner and Robert in the farm | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
However, the farm was abundant in other ways. The land was very rich, and Patricia’s father 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.
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Jennifer Garner farming | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
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Native pecan trees were a source of income and provided yummy treats to the family. A majority of the family’s meat came from the reared chicken, cows, and pigs. Over the years, this family land has since changed hands several times. Patricia noted that it was left untended and uncared for over 40 years.
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Jennifer Garner cooking in her kitchen | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
In the spring of 1962, Harvey died, and Jennifer’s grandmother sold the land to Patricia’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.
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Jennifer Garner eating blackberries | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
Patricia and Jennifer Garner in the kitchen | Source: Instagram.com/jennifer.garner/
James built a barn and fenced the property, and in 2008, he sold the land to Patricia’s brother 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. Jennifer purchased it with the understanding that her uncle and aunt would continue living there and looking after it.
