Two years into her studies with the onset of the Great Depression, Maggie had to drop out of the program to support her family by working as an assistant advertising manager at a department store in Tacoma.

[2] While working for Sunset, she opened her own graphic design studio and hired Douglas Baylis, a landscape architect whom she later married, as her business partner.

[1] At House Beautiful, Baylis created a how-to series with detailed illustrations which were later copied by other magazines for the home gardener.

[4] In 1971, she turned her attention to writing and illustrating a dozen books, the most well-known being House Plants for the Purple Thumb.

[3] The book capitalized on a nationwide interest in houseplants, teaching new growers easily digestible information on the full range of care needed for success.