George Schenk is best known for his classic The Complete Shade Gardener (1984 and 1991), a bible for me in my early days of gardening in my shady backyard. What I learned recently is that his writing career began much earlier with the 1964 Sunset publication How to Plan, Establish, and Maintain Rock Gardens.
Early Sunset books like this are much meatier than recent ones, and the writing is pure Schenk, a witty combination of observation and intuitive insight, all enhanced by the photographs of Don Normark. Best of all, the author draws on his Seattle area roots for many of his examples.
Schenk includes some unexpected discussion topics for this genre, including desert, woodland, and bog gardens. He closes with what he calls the plant biographies “…of the best, the strangest, and the most charming plants for American rock gardens.”
Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Fall 2017