Woodward Park’s Daffodil Hill was in full bloom when our photographer Michelle Pollard and I met Andy Fusco, who took on the role of executive director at the Tulsa Garden Center last year.
Based out of The Mansion at Woodward Park, 2435 S. Peoria Ave., the Tulsa Garden Center is dedicated to serving as the horticultural headquarters for Tulsans. The nonprofit offers an array of educational and recreational opportunities — from Sunset Slowdowns in the Teaching Garden on the second Tuesday of every month to the 71st annual SpringFest taking place April 10-11. Fusco, once an intern at the Tulsa Garden Center, served as the organization’s director of horticulture for four years before being named executive director in July 2025.
We started out the interview with a photoshoot, joking about how many Tulsans share the memory of taking high school senior photos in the same gardens, including Fusco, a 2008 Union High School grad.
He went on to earn his bachelor’s in film studies at The University of Tulsa, landing in Brooklyn for about a year before he returned to Green Country in the mid-2010s to be closer to family. With “The Pioneer Woman” being one of the largest filming projects in the area at the time, Fusco spent a lot of time driving between Tulsa and Pawhuska before shifting gears entirely. That’s where our conversation picks up.
SpringFest returns to Tulsa Garden Center April 10-11.
Michelle Pollard
So, why did you decide to switch careers?
The (Oklahoma) film industry was not what it is today, and so really the only thing I was working consistently on was The Pioneer Woman up in Pawhuska … I just bought a house in Tulsa, and I was wanting to put down some roots and one weekend, I was just flipping through probably a TulsaPeople or something, and saw Tulsa Community College had a horticulture program. I had always gardened growing up. Gardening was always a big hobby. And I was like, ‘maybe that’s what I want to do,’ go back to school, study horticulture.
So that’s what I did … And my first semester at TCC, they were like, ‘oh, yeah, we’re shutting the program down.’ I think that article was probably kind of a last gasp try to get an influx of students, but it didn’t really work. But they allowed us for two years to take as many classes as they would offer, and I still didn’t know quite what I wanted to do. I just wanted a piece of paper with horticulture on it.
At that time, one of the teachers over there was Cherlyn Reeves, who now owns her own landscaping company (Innovative Outdoor Living), but she had been an intern at the teaching garden under Barry Fugatt and she said, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing this summer, but they’re looking for an intern, and you should go apply.’ And so, I did, and I got it — and that’s the summer I was working at the Teaching Garden. I was like, ‘Oh, this is the type of plant work I want to do, work in public gardens.’ I really loved the public aspect of it, and the people aspect of it.
Tulsa Garden Center
Michelle Pollard
Did you see yourself becoming executive director during your internship here?
No, not at all. I thought one day, maybe, I could be a cool director of horticulture somewhere. And when I was in grad school (at Oklahoma State University) — this would have been two years after that internship — they have you do all of these projects where it’s like, ‘what’s your five-year plan?’ And in that, the five-year goal was to be a director of horticulture. And then I was a director of horticulture two years later. Then a few years ago, I started thinking, ‘could I eventually, would I ever want to make that next step?’
Some people don’t ever want to make that leap. They like to stay in the plant world … I started kind of toying with it and talking with a professional mentor about it, and it was like, ‘yeah, maybe one day.’ But I think what was important is that I had done a little bit of that work, so when the opportunity presented itself, I felt confident in stepping into the role.
So, I recognize that I’ve gotten here probably a lot younger than I expected to, but I think it brings a unique perspective to the role. I don’t take lightly the fact that this organization has been around longer than my parents have been alive … And a lot of our constituents have been coming to the Garden Center for a very long time. And so, in a lot of ways, many of them have a certain type of agency here that I don’t have just based on that. So I find that really humbling, the give and take of that, and listening to everybody’s perspective, but also knowing that I was hired to do a certain role.
Sometimes pushing an organization forward means making tough decisions, but if you understand all those perspectives, you hopefully can communicate it in a way that brings everybody along.
A statue on display at the Tulsa Garden Center
Michelle Pollard
How have your responsibilities in this new role changed?
As director of horticulture, I was in charge of all of our horticulture and education initiatives. I was officially over the Teaching Garden program and volunteer program, as well as any type of horticulture initiatives we were pursuing in the park. The arboretum was a big chunk of my work, curating a plant list, getting it approved through the city … And we often work closely with the city gardeners to figure out what their needs are.
Now, because of my expertise, I still do a lot of that, especially in this last year’s transitional period. I was kind of still playing both roles. My role today is still pushing those projects forward, but more building the team that can push the projects forward, as well as finding the resources … (and) making sure that we’re a viable organization for many years in the future.
Do you have a favorite spot in the gardens?
The Teaching Garden is kind of our pride and joy, but there’s a specific spot within the Teaching Garden that’s always been my favorite. On the ramp that goes around the pond, there’s a spot where it starts to switch back. You can turn around and look back down across the pond. There used to be a redbud that you could sit under — it has died, but we’re working on a replacement tree for it — and you look through another redbud, and, all four seasons, there’s a slightly different viewpoint. The water is flowing there so that you get a nice auditory experience as well.
When I was an intern — the capstone of the intern summer program is, we have volunteer monthly meetings where we bring in speakers, and the intern always does the meeting in July … That was the first big public speaking engagement that I had ever done, and I was so nervous. So, the morning of the presentation, I got here early and sat and just had a moment to myself in that area of the garden. Then I came over here, and did the presentation. It was well received; it’s an easy audience. But, you know, that spot is probably my favorite.
“I got into this (role) because of plants, and I always want people to nerd out on the plants like I do, but … these places are so much more than just a place to come learn about what a certain tree is. It’s a place to get away from the day to day, hustle and bustle of work and life and to just be,” Fusco says.
Michelle Pollard
Now, when you are off work, what are you typically getting up to?
The more that my role has shifted away from actually working in the gardens, I’ve fallen back in love with my own garden. I live right here in Midtown. I ride my bike on Riverside. I’ve recently taken up hot yoga, which is fun — at Yoga Quest. I spend quite a bit of time at my family’s restaurant, Blue Moon. That’s kind of my “third place” that’s not work, a little community hub. I have a really rich family community here. I mean, that was part of the reason I moved back.
What’s usually growing in your garden?
I really love my shrubs and perennials, flowers and grasses — ornamental landscapes, that’s how I would describe it. I usually have one crop of tomatoes and peppers every year. Pretty traditional. I do quite a bit of house plant growing too … I probably have 70 or 80 house plants.
SpringFest returns April 10-11
Thanks to new paved paths opening up more plant vendor space in the arboretum, This year’s SpringFest April 10-11, running 9 a.m.-3 p.m. both days, will be the biggest and most accessible yet. For overflow parking, Tulsa Garden Center will offer a free shuttle service from All Souls Unitarian Church. Learn more about the event at tulsagardencenter.org/springfest.
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