“He used to be on the deck guarding the alley, but he scared the dogs,” says Glen MacGregor. “Now he’s in the garden, and gargoyles outside are supposed to protect you.” MacGregor’s backyard sanctuary – “It’s like being in the middle of the country. All summer the back door is open with a fan to keep the bugs out” – is part of the Cabbagetown Preservation Association’s sixth Annual Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces Tour. MacGregor’s home and garden has been toured twice previously, so he is rather blasé about the work involved. “I don’t put a lot of work into it – I put a lot of money into it,” he laughs. Next-door neighbour Steven Poulin’s garden is also on the tour, and he is busily fine-tuning a fountain built out of rocks he’s collected from around the world. “I have to find the exact drip of water to make it all Zen and spooky,” he explains as he fits a piece of the Great Wall of China next to some fossils and a chunk of brain coral.
The houses back onto Magic Lane, which is where the tour will enter from. “We doll up the alley for the day,” assures MacGregor. Any non-official tour-crashers will have to deal with the dogs – or the gargoyle. — Drew Rowsome
 
The Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces Tour is 10am-3pm on Sun, June 3 in Cabbagetown. cabbagetownpa.ca