A former nurseryman and landscaper, George Schenk retired from business to pursue his related passions of designing and planting gardens and writing about them. He splits his time between gardens and residences in Seattle, North Vancouver, Auckland, and Manila. He is a specialist in the sculpture of the tribes of the Philippine Cordillera and is active in the effort to preserve their cultural heritage. Schenk is the author of several magazine articles and books. His book Moss Gardening won the Book Award of the American Horticultural Society; his The Complete Shade Gardener has been recognized by the society as one of America's seventy-five "Great American Garden Books."