Meet the Maker: Ngoc Minh Ngo
Ngoc Minh Ngo is an acclaimed garden photographer whose work depicts the magic of flowers and their role in human experience.
We are delighted to welcome her to Thyme on Friday 30th May to speak about her beautiful new book: Roses in the Garden. Here Ngoc tells us about her journey into the world of roses and the literary influences which have shaped her exploration.
Your journey into the world of roses began during a deeply personal time in your life. What did the experience of caring for your father’s garden and volunteering at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden teach you?
I began to pay attention to the roses in my father's garden in California while caring for him during the last week of his life. Back in New York, volunteering at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden allowed me to see a greater variety of roses and to get to know more about them. It also gave me the opportunity to photograph them, which meant that I could contemplate them even more deeply, which in turn made me more curious to learn about this flower across time and places.
2. 'Roses in the Garden' encompasses not only the aesthetic beauty of roses but also their rich cultural significance. How have you incorporated literary references into your exploration of these flowers?
Roses have been the inspiration of so much poetry. Connecting specific roses to works of literature gives an additional depth and dimension to my appreciation of them. For example, Thomas Moore was said to be inspired by a specimen of the rose 'Old Blush' to write his poem "The Last Rose of Summer" in 1805. This rose, a repeat bloomer – European roses were mostly once-blooming only – was introduced to England in 1795, only 10 years before Moore wrote his poem, and it is said to be one of the four "China Studs" – the four China roses that were used in the breeding of modern roses. 'Old Blush' was also combined with a damask rose in what used to be the Île Bourbon to give us the bourbon roses. In North Carolina, it was crossed with a musk rose to give us the Noisette roses. Moore's poem was set to music and rebloomed, so to speak, in numerous musical compositions by European classical composers from Beethoven to Britten. It was recorded by Nina Simone and Bing Crosby. Tom Waits and Judas Priest, among others, were inspired by Moore's song to record their own versions of "The Last Rose of Summer". The song continues to be used in contemporary films and television shows. So when I look at an 'Old Blush' rose, I not only think of it in horticultural history, from its origin in China, where it is known as 'Yue Yue Fen' – meaning the monthly rose – to this long and ongoing cultural legacy.
3. In your travels to famous roses gardens - Ninfa, Floret and Hillside - what did you discover about their role in both gardens and human experience?
What I found in my travels to different gardens is the way everyone has a very personal connection to the rose. People's love of roses is often connected with specific memories and experiences. Some people fall in love with the beauty of a certain rose, or its fragrance – often both – and the vast variety of roses means that there are roses suitable for different parts of the garden, whether it's a hedge of Rosa rubiginosa planted along the paths to take advantage of their apple-like scent at Spilsbury or the beautiful climber 'Agrippina' for the ancient walls of Ninfa.
talk: Roses in the Garden
Friday 30 MAy 2025, 10:00 - 12:00
No other floral genus has greater variety and enticement than the rose. They blossom in an endless variety of shapes and a surprising spectrum of colours; their perfume is ineffable. After three thousand years of cultivation, the rose continues to seduce.
At Thyme this spring, acclaimed photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo, and Garden Editor Clare Foster, explore the beauty, history and culture of this remarkable flower, visiting many of the places that served as inspiration for Roses in the Garden, from the most romantic garden in the world to the Rose Garden of Sakura.
Included in the ticket price is a welcome refreshment and a two-course lunch in the Ox Barn. Following the talk there will be time for an audience Q&A and a book signing with Ngoc Minh Ngo.