Overview:

  • The Turner family has developed Peace Garden, an urban farm on Grand River, since 2023 with support from Keep Growing Detroit
  • Toria Turner works the garden with her husband and sons, growing produce for their church and community while honoring her grandfather's gardening legacy
  • Turner envisions expanding the Peace Garden into a community gathering space with volunteer events and shared dinners

Rooted in Detroit: Stories from the Soil is a Planet Detroit farmer profile series exploring Detroit’s local urban farming community. Local journalists, farming leaders, and Planet Detroit Neighborhood Reporting Lab Fellows and participants write the farmer profiles, supported by the Kresge Foundation and the Sustainability Institute of Detroit. See the full series here.

Toria Turner shows off a strip of land at the Peace Garden, located on City Temple Church at 8926 Grand River. The garden, sandwiched between sweet potatoes and marigolds, is covered in straw. She bends down to gingerly move a vine, revealing white flowers underneath.  

“As beautiful as this is, I tell people this is a weed; she is not friendly,” she said. “We found the straw does a pretty good job at keeping the weeds at bay. ”

Turner’s husband Brian, a student beekeeper, began turning on the water taps to fill buckets, the main task for today’s visit to the garden. Two sons, Braxx, 14, and Broc, 23, help work on the garden as a family.

The site began development as an urban farm in 2023 when Turner, 50, and her family took stewardship of the land from nearby Temple Church, where they were active members. 

Turning this plot of land into a vibrant space of experimentation and evolution is a family affair spearheaded by Toria’s vision and ambition. It’s also inspired by her mother’s memory.

An orange butterfly catches Toria Turner’s attention.  “My mother loved orange butterflies; she must be present with us,” and a quiet moment passes as the Peace Garden’s purpose as a place for remembering becomes clear. 

Benches allow visitors time to reflect at Peace Garden Park. Phito by Zina Scimemi-O’Sullivan.

Many interests, one garden

Walking through the Peace Garden is a serene experience. A large tree and a bench invite visitors to sit and reflect on the efforts of individuals and nature that bring forth flowers and crops. 

“The straw matter is going to really create healthy soil for next year,” Turner said. “So even though we are doing our best this year, we know that next year we will hit the ground running because we are preparing the land, which is something I take very seriously.”

Turner is a health care worker and full-spectrum doula, in addition to a career as a voice-over actor, and is known to friends as always up to something new. 

“I found that all my various interests get channeled into one in this garden,” she said.

Braxx begins hauling water to the various fruit trees around the property as Turner discusses the day’s tasks with her husband and son. 

Working from 11 am until a little after 12, this weekly practice involves watering plants, harvesting fruits and vegetables grown in the garden, and the ongoing battle to fight weeds and restore the land. 

Peace Garden faces Grand River and is bordered by a growing orchard of fruit trees and raspberry bushes. 

Turner walks from the orchard, noting the new peach trees, recently given as part of a program with Keep Growing Detroit. Her husband shows off the water filtration system keeping the whole garden running. 

“Here is our compost pile and look, watermelons popped out of it!” Turner exclaims, clad in working overalls and bright large earrings. 

Garden work is part of her family history, she says.

“My grandpere, Daniel Lyle Creole, moved from New Orleans to Southwest Detroit on Patricia Street and started a neighborhood garden and gave produce to neighbors,” she says. 

“He taught my kid sister and me all that I knew. Working with the land has been a profound act of remembering.” 

Cultivating community support, patience

Turner said she has gained a lot of support through her participation in Keep Growing Detroit’s endeavors. She credits them with giving her the confidence and tools to commit to her ambitions and keep going. 

She began working with Keep Growing Detroit as a seasonal assistant in 2025 and currently works as their Volunteer Coordinator. 

She has big dreams for the Peace Garden, including hosting garden parties and increasing volunteer participation. 

“I want it to be a space for everyone to come, have events, have dinners,” she says. “I really want to get back to the long table dinners; they can bring food, get food.”

But for now, Turner is trying to cultivate patience alongside produce. 

“We are really trying to heal the land, taking it one step at a time as opposed to rushing. I tend to want it now, so this is teaching me patience.”

Tiny red ripe tomatoes fill a bucket as the harvesting and weeding dies down for the day.

“We will take these to the church and see if they can use them in a meal,” Turner says.

After 12 years overseas, returning to my roots in the Detroit area infused my life with meaning and a passion for Detroit’s history. An avid storyteller, I focus on multigenerational communities creating in the city.