Winola VanArtsdalen
After retiring from teaching in Clear Lake, Texas and an intermediary thirteen-year stop at thirty-one acres in Independence, Winola VanArtsdalen and her (now late-) husband moved to Georgetown. Here she attended the inaugural Williamson County Master Gardener Training class in 2007 and became an integral part of this newly formed association.
Winola’s decades of teaching experience gave her all the skills needed to serve WCMGA in myriad ways. For years she taught WCMGA training classes and acted as class facilitator and gardening mentor to many. Winola was a WCMGA speaker at garden clubs, horticultural interest groups and JMG events. Not only serving as fearless instructor and speaker, but Winola also had the organizational skills necessary to plan, organize and implement educational gardening fairs and plant sales. Years of gardening experience coupled with advanced specializations including Junior Master Gardener, Vegetable Gardening, Oak Wilt, and Propagation have resulted in Winola sharing her vast knowledge answering questions through the county Help Desk, manning countless “Ask A Master Gardener” booths, as well as writing long-running monthly “Timely Tips” articles published in multiple media.
Additionally, Winola acted as WCMGA president and served as a consultant to the City of Georgetown water department.
When asked if she could select ONE garden in the world in which to live, she quickly answered “Madeline Hill’s McAshan Herb Gardens at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas”. Winola had the privilege of working with Madeline Hill for eleven years. What began as a gardening mentorship turned into a lifelong friendship! Winola’s worst kept secret and ALSO fun fact is that she is still nurturing heritage plants grown from generations of seeding columbines given to her by her great-grandmother Gustava Meijer Carlsson (a 1917 emigrant from Sweden), and poppy seeds/plants from her grandmother, Hattie Carlsson Traxson. Winola’s most valuable gardening advice to all: “Walk your gardening space(s) every single morning so that you can 1) enjoy the beautiful views, smells, and tastes, and 2) to catch any issues right away so they can be addressed soon”.