In Conversation with Ngoc Minh Ngo, The Garden World's Foremost Photographer & Author of Books About Nature Shares her Inspiring Journey
When one’s name means gem or jewel, symbolizing beauty, nobility, rarity, then it can be argued that my recent Ladies Who Lunch Conversation guest’s name is destiny ~ a nominative determinism. Or perhaps it can be of the tradition that views names as having a direct link to a person's spiritual essence or destiny; providing a connection to inner strength, a divine path.
Experiencing how Ngọc Minh Ngo’s artful garden photography captures the essence or soul of the plant and flower, I’m convinced her artistry is that spiritual connection. In her ancestral Vietnamese culture, her name is associated with all these qualities along with inner worth and prosperity. Bolstered by passion ~ and lots of hard work, naturally!
Over the years, I have keenly followed Ngoc’s elegant work ~ as a gardener and garden designer, you can’t help it.
The epitome of garden glamour, Ngoc Minh Ngo’s books are, as an author and photography co-author, nothing short of remarkable.
I count a Baker’s Dozen but maybe I’ve missed some?
The garden library, er, list, includes these sumptuous tomes:
Roses in the Garden: Stories of Treasured Collections
Bird Haven Farm: The Story of an Original American Garden
The House of a Lifetime: A Collector’s Journey in Tangier
Eden Revisited
Food Adventures: Introducing Your Child to Flavors from Around the World
New York Green: Discovering the City’s Most Treasured Parks and Gardens
Taste Pure and Simple: Irresistible Recipes for Good Food and Good Health
The Artistry of Flowers: Floral Design by La Musa de las Flores
Nature into Art: The Gardens of Wave Hill
In Bloom: Creating and Living With Flowers
Heirloom: Time-Honored Techniques, Nourishing Traditions, and Modern Recipes
Bringing Nature Home: Floral Arrangements Inspired by Nature
Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and More
Her books are a passport to some of the world’s most breathtaking gardens ~ mostly private arcadias. Her images of the idyllic landscapes gifts us, the viewer, a portal into nature’s magnificent nobility and mystery. (see how her noble moniker plays a role here too ☺️)
Everything’s Coming Up Roses
Not long ago, after visiting the New York Botanical Garden’s Press Preview for its Van Gogh Sunflowers show, I scooted back to Manhattan.
I had a date with another popular flower: the Rose.
Along with other art-specific organizations, I’m also a member of the Garden Conservancy and I’d purchased a ticket for Ngoc’s book tour with the Garden Conservancy (GC) here in NYC. I was early and therefore had the very good fortune to meet and chat a bit with Ngoc as the Conservancy team readied for the day’s lecture event, followed by a reception and book signing.
The GC tour celebrated the release of Ngo’s highly anticipated book, Roses in the Garden: Stories of Treasured Collections (Rizzoli, Spring 2025) by producing a national book tour with Ngoc. (You can purchase any and all of Ngoc’s books by following the Rose book link ~ or wherever you purchase your books.)
Writing of the tour, The Conservancy noted:
“Roses in the Garden takes readers on a journey to eleven gardens worldwide, showcasing the diverse ways roses are used and the rich symbolism they embody sharing insights into some of the world’s most breathtaking rose gardens, spanning continents and cultures, from England and France to Italy, Spain, Morocco, Japan, and the United States.”
Roses in the Garden is also a kind of love letter to her father…
A Vietnamese refugee who grew up in California, Ngoc captivated her audiences with her personal story, intertwined with her passion for roses and photography.
Learning what I did from the lecture, I was ever more keen to host Ngoc on my videocast and was thrilled that she’d said yes.
In our Ladies Conversation, Ngoc shares some of the intimate recollections of her family, how they engendered her ability to succeed; along with her father’s steadfast belief in her; giving her that transformative alchemy: confidence. She tells us how his nurturing, supportive trust in her was so formative from an early age ~ no matter what she pursued.
It was especially so when she decided to attend UC Berkeley ~ different from the local college where her siblings attended in Sacramento. She didn’t tell her parents until she had secured some financing and asked them to drive her to the University.
She shared a rather hilarious “Orange” character story that has us both laughing out loud! And that anecdote concluded with the sweet observation and support of her father that is a true parenting life-lesson in raising strong, independent children.
Being the sixth of eight children, with most of her siblings becoming career professionals, choosing to be an artist wasn’t a given.
Ngoc describes how she came to photography rather late. She was working with a friend on a film and a photographer on set taught her how to print photos.
Ngoc tells us how she took it ~ and soon thought she could do something with photography ~ professionally, that is.
I’ll say!
An autodidact, or self taught photography artist and author, Ngoc is imbued with magical, innate talent.
I asked her how she makes us feel like we’re in the garden ~ or at the table. Ngoc creates sumptuous food images too.
She talked about her quiet confidence when I asked her “secret.”
It's her passion, talent, and reverence that is akin to a meditation for what she’s photographing that is paramount and salient to what we see as the “beauty shot.”
She describes the experience of photographing using all her senses.
And by and large, it’s because, as she says, “I Love my work!”
It shows…
And it’s so affirming and refreshing to hear a successful woman embrace the pure joy of what she does in her life; her career.
What’s always inspired me about artists is how they continue to produce their art ~ oftentimes under extreme conditions and over long periods of time ~ most often without a social media public or or the promise of financial rewards.
To me, how an artist immerses herself in the art is all the more captivating.
For women this is especially taxing.
Too often, getting ahead or being recognized for her craft, there are those who claim women need to be “Lucky” or you know, be the B____ word.
I asked Ngoc how she was able to cultivate not only a worldwide fan base but a client roster that reads like the reservations list at Le Bernardin. I cautiously framed my question in the context of how she accomplishes this in spite of seeming so shy and so very humble. The polar opposite of the proverbial B____.
Her response demonstrates her wisdom and a sincerity that are worthy of a zen master’s guidance on the power of enlightenment and the concept of true self…
Listen to her describe the importance of that quiet self confidence and how to achieve it.
It’s a spiritual reverence… To know yourself. Be yourself.
So while the likes of Martha Stewart, NYBG, and Janet Mavec, a recent Ladies Who Lunch Conversations guest who, during our Conversation revealed her upcoming and now just-released book Birdhaven Farm: The Story of an Original American Garden for which Ngoc did the photography ~ and here I’m name dropping just a few of her collaborations, they seek her out.
Ngoc’s adherence to being true to yourself and learning to “cultivate yourself ~ cultivate what you’re good at” is key.
Does she like to travel?
Her wanderlust is satiated by her travels for work, she acknowledges, smiling. Ngoc rather gleefully describes how her schedules are a kind of unique passport ~ allowing her to visit all these rare and special gardens. And by extension, we get to visit these garden jewels, too!
She loves seeing the world and different people and their passions. And tells us that she learns so much.
I often say that books are so transporting.
And Cicero famously said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
So, Ngoc’s book will give you a garden AND a library.
What else do you need?
Oh, here it is.
Besides purchasing her books for your home library or to add to your gift list, you can wear an original Ngoc! Her floral designed Echo scarf is a flower-lover’s delight. Wearing it will surely bring you Nature’s harmony and joy as viewed through Ngoc’s prism.
In addition to the Ladies’ craft and successes, I’m always curious how they spend their leisure or off time. How they relax and are inspired by other things provides interesting insight to their artful persona and makes for a richer, well-lived life we can all admire and learn from.
I am grateful and impressed to have learned what Ngoc does in her spare time.
While she contributed as a volunteer to Brooklyn Botanic Garden ~ in the Rose Garden, specifically ~ where she met my friend and co-worker, Sarah Owens, who was the rosarian at that time. It was the start of a wonderful relationship. Sarah went on to become a James Beard Award Winner for her book, Sourdough Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and her follow up, Heirloom. For both of Sarah’s books, Ngoc did the award-winning photography.
Today, I can readily appreciate Ngoc’s preferred volunteer work. Given her schedule, she focuses her time with New York Cares because they provide flexibility to volunteers, including “day-of” participation. We’re all so over-calendared with family obligations and work that this format is very appealing and doable. Thank you, Ngoc.
She also loves spending time knitting. I can't help but think it’s another way to hone her meditative experience, not unlike her photography style.
I asked her what the future looks like ~ what she’d like to do that she hasn’t done yet.
She revealed that she’s working on a book ~ a very personal book. She described what is a natural history through the lens of her personal history featuring flowers that have had significant meaning in her life.
It sounds positively captivating and enchanting.
Ngoc also generously and thoughtfully gives more than a few tips on photographing ~ making photographs that communicate something from yourself ~ photos that tell a story.
I concluded our Conversation by asking what inspires her; her reply is artfully revealing. And can you guess what her favorite cocktail is?
Please watch and enjoy this enlightening, fun, personal and intimate videocast on my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations Facebook or on my YouTube channel. (Please subscribe while you’re there 😉)
In addition to the artful, professional insights, the Conversation is also brimming with what I believe are priceless, restorative life lessons from the engaging journey of a truly remarkable woman.
Her work has been described by others as an exploration "of the intrinsic beauty of plants and nature."
It’s true.
I've always felt Ngoc captures a unique perspective of what us garden designers refer to as Genius Loci ~ that ephemeral sense of place. Ngoc’s spiritual connection allows us to embrace Nature through her breathtaking art.
Thank you so much for your time and keen insights, Ngoc.
You are so very inspiring.
