Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With balls and bells, and treats that smell, and rubber ducks all in a row?
In the quiet town of Polson, Montana, where the Rockies kiss the lake and the wildflowers bloom like brushstrokes on a canvas, Mary McKinley is living her dream—surrounded by plants, pups, and a touch of playful chaos.
Mary with her dogs: Rubble, Pogo, Dottie, Blobbie, and Churro
A proud alumna of Brigham Young University, Mary studied landscaping from 2008 to 2014, a pursuit that felt more like a calling than a career. Originally from Wysedale, North Dakota, she brought her small-town roots to Provo, where she honed her talent for design, horticulture, and environmental aesthetics. Now, her work blossoms on sacred ground: she designs flower beds for temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
One of Mary’s garden designs
Mary’s artistry is evident in the temples’ gardens—from swirling beds of hydrangeas and tulips to intricate arrangements that draw on symbolism and seasonal rhythm. “There’s something spiritual about working with the earth,” she says. “Temples are places of peace. My job is to help that peace bloom, quite literally.”
But her creativity doesn’t stop at the garden gate.
Mary has four dogs—Rubble, Pogo, Dottie, Blobbie, and Churro—and they are the unsuspecting benefactors of one of her quirkiest passions: building Rube-Goldberg machines. In her workshop, attached to her Polson home, Mary assembles elaborate contraptions out of rubber ducks, rubber chickens, and various squeaky dog toys. The goal? To deliver a single treat to one of her dogs in the most complicated and hilarious way possible.
A Rube-Goldberg machine geared toward dogs
“They get excited as soon as they hear the first squeak,” she laughs. “It’s like watching an audience settle in for a magic show.”
Next to her workshop is a greenhouse, a quiet space filled with experimental plants—hybrid blooms, vertical gardens, and heirloom vegetables. “I’m always trying new things,” Mary says. “Some people sketch or journal. I propagate.”
Mary McKinley is a rare blend of precision and play, devotion and delight. Whether she’s planting a sacred garden or launching a dog biscuit from a spring-loaded duck, she brings joy to every square foot she touches.
