Rooted Nearby: Swan Island Dahlias

Rooted Nearby is our occasional series highlighting local nurseries, growers, and garden businesses we’ve visited, enjoyed, and feel good about recommending. While Milwaukie Floral no longer has a garden center of our own, we still love helping connect our community with great local places to find plants, garden inspiration, and knowledgeable advice.

If you’ve spent much time around flowers in Oregon, Swan Island Dahlias probably needs very little introduction. But with their Annual Dahlia Festival happening now, and a very special floral installation returning this year, we thought it was worth the reminder that one of the most incredible flower destinations in our area is right down the road in Canby.

Who They Are

Swan Island Dahlias is a family-owned dahlia farm with roots going all the way back to 1927. The business originally began in Portland as Rex Dahlia Gardens, founded by Frances McCarter and her husband. It eventually moved to Canby and became Swan Island Dahlias. The Gitts family purchased the farm in 1963, and it remains a multi-generational family business today. Nicholas Gitts continues to lead the farm, while his daughter Heather Gitts-Schloe manages the office, website, and day-to-day operations. Members of the Gitts and Schloe families continue to carry the business forward. And this is a particularly fun year to visit. Swan Island Dahlias is celebrating its Centennial Season in 2026 and 2027, marking nearly 100 years of growing dahlias in Oregon.

What They Specialize In

Dahlias. Lots and lots and lots of dahlias. Swan Island Dahlias is the largest dahlia grower in the United States, growing more than 375 varieties across nearly 50 acres. For gardeners, they are an incredible resource for dahlia tubers, including varieties in just about every shape, size, and color imaginable. For the rest of us, especially during bloom season, the farm itself is worth the visit. You can walk through the fields, see varieties growing in real life, buy fresh-cut dahlias, browse their Mercantile, and start making a very long list of varieties you suddenly need in your own garden.

Where You’ll Find Them

Swan Island Dahlias is located at:

995 NW 22nd Ave
Canby, Oregon 97013

Right now, the farm is open for its Annual Dahlia Festival, which runs throughout August and September.

Festival hours are currently Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, with the farm closed Monday and Tuesday.

Admission and parking for the regular festival are free. There are food carts daily, live music on weekends, classes, fresh-cut flowers, the Mercantile, and nearly 50 acres of dahlias to wander through.

One especially fun addition this year is The Bloom Room, an immersive indoor floral installation that has returned for the first time in six years.

Thousands of fresh-cut dahlias have been turned into large-scale floral installations by a team of floral designers. The Bloom Room has now wrapped up for the season, but it was such a fun part of our visit that it still felt worth mentioning. Even without it, wandering the fields during peak bloom season is more than enough reason to make the trip.

Why They’re on Our List

Everyone knows Swan Island Dahlias. But sometimes the places everyone knows are still worth reminding each other about, especially when something special is happening.

One really nice thing that has come from changing the way Milwaukie Floral operates is that outings like this have actually become something I can do again. Rosie and I recently spent an afternoon at Swan Island Dahlias with my sister and mother-in-law. We wandered through the fields, looked at an absolutely ridiculous number of dahlias, and spent time exploring the floral designs.

It was lovely.

And honestly, that is probably the best reason I can give you for putting Swan Island Dahlias on our Rooted Nearby list. You do not have to be an expert gardener or be shopping for anything in particular. You can simply go spend an afternoon surrounded by flowers. If you happen to leave with a list of 25 dahlias you now believe you absolutely need, that part is between you and your garden.

A Little Something for Our Readers

Swan Island Dahlias is currently offering special online pricing on dahlia tubers as part of their festival season.

Their published Festival Special includes 10% off dahlia tuber purchases through September 30, 2026. The discount is automatically applied online, so no coupon code is needed.

Tubers ordered now are for spring 2027 delivery.

Because their seasonal promotions can change as inventory sells through, take a quick look at the website before ordering to confirm the current discount.

How to Connect

Website: dahlias.com

Contact: info@dahlias.com | 503-266-7711

Hours: Annual Dahlia Festival, Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm through September. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Instagram: @swanislanddahlias