By Linda Langelo
Swan Island Dahlias began as a humble operation, growing dahlias on just one acre, and has expanded to nearly 50 acres.
In 1963, Nick and Margaret Gitts purchased Swan Island Dahlias — founded in 1926 in Portland but based by then in Canby, Oregon — from the McCarter family. The Gitts family had to relocate to run their new operation. Before the move, the Gitts operated a dairy farm in Laurel, Washington, while cultivating one acre of dahlias. Their work on the dahlias impressed the McCarters and earned them the chance to take over Swan Island.
After settling in Canby, they farmed 20 acres of dahlias while operating two businesses — a retail mail-order and a wholesale operation.
In 1975, Nick and Margaret were fortunate to continue the business with their sons Nicholas and Ted Gitts as new partners. By 1991, Nicholas and Ted purchased the business from their parents, allowing Nick and Margaret to retire.
In 2013, Nicholas suffered the loss of his brother and business partner, Ted, in a tragic accident that also claimed his wife, Debbie. Family members and employees came together to fill key roles and help carry the business forward.
Today, Nicholas and Linda Gitts own and operate the farm. Their daughter, Heather Gitts-Schloe, represents the third generation of growers.
In 2021, Heather and her husband, Brandon Schloe, purchased 10 more acres, expanding the farm’s operations. Through three generations, the family has remained committed to producing high-quality dahlias. They have earned a reputation of the Dahlia Capital of America.
This year, Swan Island Dahlias is celebrating its centennial. How many businesses get to do that? How many businesses get to invite their customers to visit, walk around, and see and touch the product?
The owners operate Swan Island Dahlias under a principle of transparency. They are eager to have customers visit the farm to experience the beauty, and just to see how everything works.
“Ask us anything about what we do,” senior manager and third generation grower Heather Gitts-Schloe said. “Come and see our farming techniques, learn about our product. We are an open book.”
As one of the largest and oldest dahlia farms in the United States, Swan Island is known for sharing its passion and for its unique way doing things. One example of that would be their distinctive naming system.
“Most dahlia growers use their last name or nickname in front of the dahlia varieties as respect for them, and you would know where that dahlia came from,” Gitts-Schloe said.
Swan Island, on the other hand, uses fun, wild, and crazy names, or names that remind you of a flower. One of their popular varieties, Daddy’s Girl, with its soft pink color, carries meaning. As a gift, a daughter might purchase the dahlia for their father, or vice versa.
“Names drive people,” Heather said.
Since their passion is sharing, they canceled indoor activities during COVID and adapted to the situation.
Swan Island offered to sell potted and fresh plants from other specialty nurseries that were also affected in different degrees by COVID shutdowns, like Schreiner’s Iris Gardens (Salem) and Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm (Woodburn). Potted and fresh tulips from Wooden Shoe, and irises from Schreiner’s, became part of an open-air festival hosted by Swan Island. People could safely wander through its fields, see dahlias, and enjoy their neighbors’ products.
It became a two-month-long festival, rather than two weekends for an indoor display of elegant dahlia sprays.
Today, the Swan Island Dahlia Festival remains free and draws 65,000 visitors annually. The Centennial celebration runs August 28–30, and September 4–7. Their indoor dahlia display, discontinued around the time of COVID, will return this year. There is a small fee for this display, Heather said, “to cover the cost of the designers, and these are extravagant designs and photo opportunities.”
Also new this year? A trackless train to take customers from the parking lot and around a small portion of the farm.
Not interested in dahlias? The festival has something for everyone. There are hands-on workshops in painting, macrame, and flower arranging, as well as live music on the weekends.
In addition, the Northwest Koi Show will be at Swan Island during the first weekend of the Dahlia Festival, August 1–2. Heather’s father, Nicholas Gitts, is a member of the Northwest Koi and Goldfish Club and loves to share his passion for the beautiful fish.
The koi show struggled at its prior location, so Nicholas offered Swan Island as a venue. It may be the perfect location, with a koi pond at the farm that has now doubled in size. Heather’s husband and her dad travel all over to purchase and see koi.
Swan Island also works with a beekeeper to ensure that plants are pollinated. “Bees are the most important employees on the farm,” Heather said. “Flowers won’t thrive without them.”
The beekeeper approves all sprays, and Swan Island uses electrostatic spraying, which reduces the amount applied. The tubers are not sprayed. The beekeeper then sells the honey produced, deriving income from the arrangement.
As for their most popular varieties, Diva, with dark purple flowers, is number one. It makes a great cut flower and is an extremely strong plant. Compared to Boogie Nights, also a top seller, Diva is a stronger tuber producer.
Daddy’s Girl, with a baby pink color, is the second most popular. It grows 4 to 4½ feet tall. It is a great cut flower, particularly suitable for weddings.
Their third most popular is Café au Lait, which is priced higher due to supply and demand. The color fluctuates between peachy and pink. “Some customers say, I want the one that has more peach or I want the more pink one. Your plant might have both,” Heather said.
Dahlias do not reproduce quickly, so buy several.
Lights Out is fourth in line. It is black and her father’s favorite, Heather said. It grows 3 to 3½ feet tall, is incredibly bushy, and makes a nice hedgy plant. This dahlia has some green in the center, which is not good for show quality.
Bluetiful is fifth in line, named after lavender, and has a bluish cast. This is unique because dahlias don’t produce a true blue pigment. It has ruffled blooms and is short and very bushy. It makes a great cut flower.
Employees at Swan Island also have a favorite, according to Heather. “If anyone asks us what to grow, McKayla Maranda is the choice,” she said. It has white flowers with lavender edges. The bloom is seven inches, and it is an early bloomer. That is unusual because larger flowers typically bloom later. It grows 3 to 3 ½ feet tall and makes a great cut flower. It is great in pots, bouquets, or a hedge.
A visit to the Annual Dahlia Festival lets people share in Swan Island Dahlias’ passion and joy for Dahlias, which Heather calls “an exhaustion of happiness.” It’s the culmination of “our enjoyed wealth of hard work and thankfulness for all our employees who put in their hard work during the festival,” she added.
