The crisp fragrance of the firs and evergreens balanced against the delicious scents of lavender, rosemary and perennials will sail you away to Italy and the South of France. Trees play a major role in any landscape, but it takes a fine hand and an unerring sense of scale to design such a breathtaking orchestration of foliage, bark and natural features as you will find at Wingfield Farm. Once you descend into the garden there is no sightline Mrs. Gardner has not enhanced with fir, cypress and evergreens. The deciduous trees add levity and relief, but in the depth of winter, Wingfield Gardens are a spectacular array of distinctive colors and textures. From deep greens to woolly grays, hazy olives evocative of Mediterranean hillsides and the blue greens and grays of the Scottish Highlands and the Atlas mountains, you will marvel at the mixture of needles, feathers, leaves and tassels that combine to create a texture of shade and light in this Hunt Country garden.

There are umbrellas of Stone Pine and dark green, almost black firs against golden Irish Yew. Crisp and attentive in winter and languid, fragrant and buzzing with insects in summer, these are gardens for all seasons that project strong, fascinating shapes against the bright blue Piedmont sky. Whether your passion is The Pigmy Pinetum, a pine forest of many varieties of miniature conifers, or stunning Japanese Maples that are interspersed with a collections of rocks in The Pod of Whales, you will be amazed and delighted at the grace and enchantment Meg Gardner has created in her gardens.

The Russian Chapel, The Pot House, The Brighton Pavilion and The Griffin Court are only a few of the features you'll enjoy on The Wingfield Farm Garden Tour. Children and adults will be amused and amazed by The Topiary Hunt Scene that Mrs. Gardner designed and clipped herself. "I was inspired by the The Ladew Topiary gardens," she said smiling. For those who have visited Harvey Ladew's fabled collection of clipped yews and boxes in Monkton, Maryland, there is an unforgettable memory of the 22 acres of gardens the avid sportsman and artist created from crop and livestock fields. Now known as "the most outstanding topiary garden in America," according to the Garden Club of America, Ladew transformed Pleasant Valley Farm into a remarkable showplace.

Let it be said, however, that Harvey Ladew's gardens in no way approach those Meg Gardner has created and tended so carefully at Wingfield Farm. Without question, her extraordinary gardens are more exquisite, more refined and more pleasurable by far.

Hilleary Bogley, president and founder of Middleburg Humane Foundation, is immensely grateful and positively thrilled about the Garden Tour Mrs. Gardner has planned to benefit her organization. "We need so much help to maintain our standard of service and care for animals," she explained. "Meg has been an invaluable help for many years and she knows we have a constant need for fund raisers.

"This is simply wonderful for us. I've known Mrs Gardner since long before I founded Middleburg Humane, and she is well aware of what a struggle we have to keep going. We used to have 10-20 calls each day about animals needing adoption. Now we sometimes have to take 60 animals who need both behavior and medical assistance in one day."

Although Hilleary emphasizes how supportive the Middleburg community is, it is a small community and there are large numbers of animals that need help if they are not to be put down. "Meg has helped us so many ways in the past," Hilleary said. "She helps us pay postage for our newsletter, and she rescued a very cranky donkey when no one else would provide a home for him. She has been an invaluable friend to Middleburg Humane and to me."

Whether you are an avid gardener yourself and simply cannot resist the rare opportunity to visit a truly spectacular private garden, or you simply want to enjoy a breathtaking walk through an amazing landscape, you won't want to miss The Wingfield Farm Garden Tour May 10th and 11th. Many animals in need of homes will be at Wingfield Farm during the tour, as well as delicious refreshments and a book sale for discriminating readers. Admission tickets are $25 if you purchase them in advance at The Pink Box, the Middleburg Humane Thrift Shop and most of the shops in Middleburg, or $30 if you purchase them at Wingfield Farm. Details and directions are available at middleburghumane.com, or by telephoning 540 364 3272. Children who take the tour must be accompanied at all times by adults. Should the weather be inclement, The Wingfield Farm Garden tour will take place May 17th and 18th, so reserve both weekends just in case. These gardens are something you will not want to miss.