Jenna Kessler

A Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

-Mary Oliver

Eventide Gardens is an 11 acre Homestead and Market Garden located in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia, Mi’kma’ki. We grow fruit, heirloom vegetables, edible and cut flowers, and tend to a bee yard. Nestled between the North Mountain and the Annapolis River, we are lucky to be a 5 minute drive from the quaint town of Annapolis Royal.

We are investing in this patch of soil through regenerative growing methods such as poly-culture cover cropping, no-till cultivation, crop rotation, and soil conditioning with natural, non-synthetic amendments and fertilizers. We feel fortunate to have a beautiful ancient apple orchard, which we plan to restore over time. Our vision is to create insect and bird biodiversity, through the planting of hedgerows and native species, and also by nourishing the native soil biology through good soil management.

Having a decade of experience working on small ecological farms in Ontario including CSA models, as well as selling at Farmer’s Markets, we are bringing our passion for growing and providing beautiful, quality produce to our local community.

As well as being passionate about growing, we are both illustrators and artists, and are constantly inspired by the beauty of this land. The vision extends beyond the gardens, to eventually open a small gallery on the land. We are grateful to be part of this community of human and non-human members.