Visit Swan Island Dahlias

If you love Dahlias, or just flowers in general, you might want to consider visiting Swan Island Dahlias during August and September. Located just 30 minutes south in Canby, the Swan Island Dahlia farms bills itself as the “Nation’s Leading & Largest Dahlia Grower” and offers ~40 acres of dahlias. This post has some photos to show what they look like in early August (I went August 11) and later, photos from quite a few years ago when I went during their peak during the annual Dahlia Festival.

Swan Island Dahlias is family owned and operated and has been so for more then 90 years. Besides selling the plants and cut flowers, they hold a Dahlia Festival every year the last weekend of August and Labor Day weekend that includes three indoor display rooms as well as food, drink, and live music and other entertainment, demonstrations, and talks. But, you can avoid the crowds who also come during the festival by visiting any day 8am – 6pm 7 days a week in August and September, like I did with my sisters last weekend.

 

It is much more relaxed and easier to take photos without the crowds. Just be sure to follow their signs and rules in terms of staying on the path and out of the flowerbeds, and this is a no drone area. A gift shop offers some snacks, items for sale, and also an area selling cut flowers and farm eggs.

There is no admission fee, and the pathways are flat though they are on grass and handicap and stroller accessible. Parking is free, and they even have some picnic tables under some shaded cover if you bring your lunch. As you might expect, there are lots of bees and sunshine, so make sure you put on sunscreen or wear your sun hat.

 

My favorite area besides seeing the riot of color that is the fields though is the Display Garden, where you can see up close the many varieties of dahlia blooms, since in the fields the best looking blooms may not necessarily be the plants on the edge by the path. A pencil and book allow you to even mark off your favorites to purchase from their catalog if you are interested in adding them to your garden.

Here are a few examples of the gorgeous dahlias they have – most of these photos are from the Display Garden area.

I love how there are so many different colors, sizes, and different petal styles.
     

I mentioned that they are open all month long in August, but if you wait until later in August or Labor Day weekend, you will see more flowers open. For instance, when I first when to Swan Island Dahlias a few years ago, I went on the Monday of Labor Day weekend and went super early (I think we were the third car to park there when it opened) and here is the difference of how many more flowers were open in the field… by the time I left though it was pretty crazy busy. I think the gift shop lady said that during the festival, 10,000 visitors come! But, look at how worth it all of this is…
   

Apparently I’m drawn to the same dahlias because even on that visit several years ago, I took photos of the same dahlias I saw this past weekend recently! Here are photos from then. Because there are more flowers, also expect even more bees too.

   

Have you been out to the Dahlia Farms before? Which are your favorite flower times and flower gardens in Portland – cherry blossoms? Peonies and irises? Tulips? Rhododendrons? Roses? Lavender? Dahlias? Which of these dahlias is your favorite? And isn’t it wonderful how many flower gardens and festivals are in the Portland area?