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Royer’s exclusive: Corazon rose

 
Corazon_on_black
The poet and writer Gertrude Stein was wrong.
A rose is a rose is a rose, she said.
If she meant to suggest that all roses are alike, then she was wrong.
We’d like to introduce you to the Corazon rose. It’s unlike any other rose we sell. Don’t get us wrong, we love them all, no matter the variety. But they aren’t one and the same.
Which is why it’s going to take some educating in order for our customers to appreciate what sets Corazon apart from other rose varieties.
First, let’s start with the name: Corazon. It’s pronounced coh-rah-SOHN, and it means “heart” in Spanish.
Corazon only comes in red.
It is grown in Quito, Ecuador, high in the Andes Mountains, approximately 2,800 miles south of Harrisburg.
But a lot of flowers are grown in Quito, including other varieties of roses.
So what’s special about Corazon?
• Its bloom opens fully, like a garden rose
• Its bloom is extra large: almost 5 inches across
• Its petals re-curl at the margins, giving Corazon a classic look
• It lasts a long time: seven days given proper care.
Corazon was a blue-ribbon winner at the Society of American Florists’ most recent convention.
What’s more, Corazon is exclusive to Royer’s. No other florist in our market area can carry Corazon.
Tom Royer, our senior vice president and chief operating officer, has been making regular trips to flower farms in South America for decades. You’d expect that it takes a lot to impress him, right?
Color him impressed – the color red, of course – when it comes to Corazon.

“Number one, it’s the head size,” Tom said. “They’re incredible. The color is just absolutely gorgeous. And it looks like you cut the rose out of your garden.
“It’s all about the characteristics of the rose. Even though it opens quickly, it lasts a long time. I was shocked how long.”

Of course, what gives Corazon its unique appeal also makes for a unique challenge in getting customers to embrace it.
“It’s a test for us,” Tom said. “It’s exciting because it’s a different type of rose. Hopefully it will go really well and people will be mad at us because we don’t have enough of them.”
 

Schreiber Pediatric teen camp visits Royer’s corporate complex


We were thrilled to be a stop once again for Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center‘s teen camp, which provides participants with an opportunity to work on social skills and learn life skills during outings in the community.
The children toured much of Royer’s corporate complex in Lebanon on Aug. 22. The teen camp has visited Royer’s for the past several years.
“Our thanks to Royer’s for helping us make this happen,” said Jay Graver, Schreiber’s director of educational services.
Based in Lancaster County, Schreiber offers outpatient physical, occupational and speech-language therapy to children with 
disabilities, developmental delays and acquired injuries.
 

Kids club members celebrate summer, look ahead to Oct. 26 event

Nat King Cole gave us “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer.”
The Royer’s Kids Club added “daisy” to the rhyming pattern with its Aug. 17 event. Available in each of our stores, the free event gave children ages 5 to 12 an opportunity to make a Sweet Summer Daisy Bowl arrangement.
The kids club’s final 2013 event is on Oct. 26, when all stores will celebrate Halloween and our annual “Bouquets for Books” book drive to benefit local libraries. We’ll provide more details in the weeks to come.

Orla Egolf wins Royer’s Kids Club birthday card design contest

Paula Egolf is a professional artist, her acrylic paintings having been exhibited at juried shows, galleries and museums.
Apparently she’s also an inspiration to her 10-year old granddaughter Orla Egolf (photo).
Orla EgolfblogOrla, a fourth-grader in the School District of Lancaster, is the winner of Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ 2013 birthday card design contest. Her prize is a flower delivery on her next birthday.
“She’s very much her own person,” Paula Egolf said of Orla. “Since she was a baby, she has always had a very definite bent toward color and design.”
Orla’s design – comprising a cake with candles, bumble bees, smiley-face balloon and, of course, flowers – graces the electronic card that all Royer’s Kids Club members will receive on their birthdays in the coming year.
The Royer’s Kids Club is free to ages 5 to 12. With parental permission, children may register for the kids club at any Royer’s store or online at www.royers.com/kidsclub. Membership benefits include a membership card, Web site activities, an e-mail newsletter, contests and in-store events.

Sisters Annie and Maddie celebrate birthdays at Royer’s

Birthday girls Maddie, left, and sister Annie.
Birthday girls Maddie, left, and sister Annie.

Melissa Castellano is expecting her third child, a boy, in August. When he turns 5, he can join the Royer’s Kids Club.
“If his sisters have anything to say about it,” Melissa quipped.
Sisters Annie, 10, and Maddie, 6, are veterans of the kids club, although the family’s ties to Royer’s run even deeper than that.
When Annie was 3, she attended a holiday open house at our Harrisburg store. It snowed that morning, and to complete the festiveness of the day, Annie won an Advent calendar at the open house.
As Melissa said, Annie “has a bond with the store.”

The girls share August birthdays and like to have their parties together. This year, they wanted a garden party theme – and they wanted to celebrate at Royer’s.

Melissa broached the idea with Harrisburg store manager Shannon Fink at a kids club event. Shannon’s team was more than happy to oblige.
The Castellanos arrived an hour before to set up for the two-hour event. They brought birthday cake and other food, as well as clay pots for the 17 children.
While Annie’s group was eating in the store’s loft, which was decorated as a butterfly garden, Maddie’s party was decorating the pots in the store’s design room.
Melissa’s grandmother died in March, so this was the first time she wasn’t there for Annie and Maddie’s parties. In her honor, the children filled their pots with African violets, the grandmother’s favorite.
The day was a big hit with the birthday girls.
“They loved it,” Melissa said. “The girls said a couple times it was a dream come true to be let loose in a flower shop.”

Savor summer at free Royer’s Kids Club event Aug. 17 in all stores

It’s getting to be back-to-school time, but the Royer’s Kids Club isn’t letting go of summer easily.
Sweet Summer Daisy Bowl
For the next free kids club event, on Aug. 17, children ages 5 to 12 will have an opportunity to make a Sweet Summer Daisy Bowl arrangement. Participants also will receive a balloon.
Time slots are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at each of Royer’s 17 stores in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.
Registration is required by calling your nearest Royer’s store. Visit www.royers.com for locations and contact information.
For more information about Royer’s Kids Club, visit www.royers.com/kidsclub.

Susquehanna Style’s ‘Best of Lancaster’ edition picks Royer’s

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The readers of Susquehanna Style magazine have voted Royer’s their favorite florist in Lancaster County.
The magazine dubbed its July issue the “Best of Lancaster” edition.
Royer’s has five Lancaster County stores: Columbia, Ephrata, Lancaster North, Lancaster West and Leola.
In June, Royer’s was named top florist in Susquehanna Style’s “Best of Harrisburg Edition.”

Royer’s voted ‘Best of Harrisburg’ by Susquehanna Style readers

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Royer’s Flowers & Gifts is the florist of choice for the readers of Susquehanna Style magazine.
The glossy monthly publication dubbed June its “Best of Harrisburg Edition,” featuring the best local businesses as voted by its readers.
Royer’s has two Harrisburg-area stores and one in Camp Hill among its 17 stores in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties.
Click here for the complete list of locations. 

Customers help our Carlisle store raise $270 for March of Dimes

After participating in their local March of Dimes walk in 2012, employees at Royer’s in Carlisle decided to get more involved this year.

Royer's Carlisle store at March of Dimes (April 2013)
Carlisle employees participate in the April 28 March of Dimes walk; from left, Liz Mohler, store manager; Kim Orris, assistant manager; Steven Shughart, designer; Beth Roden, floral consultant.

Not only did four of them join the April 28 walk, but in the three weeks leading up to it they set up a collection box for March of Dimes on the store’s counter.
Every customer who made a monetary donation was eligible to enter a drawing for a silk arrangement.
“No donation was too small,” said Liz Mohler, manager of the store at 100 York Road. “And every donation was greatly appreciated.”
Thanks to customers and employees alike, the store collected $270 for March of Dimes.
Royer’s also donated 25 carnations that were handed out to families that were walking in memory of a loved one.

Royer’s teams with WSOX to honor 20 administrative professionals

Admin Asst Day 2013-WSOX
Royer’s stores opened a half-hour early on Administrative Professionals Day, making it easier for customers to pick up flowers on their way to work.
Meanwhile, listeners of greatest hits radio station WSOX (96.1 FM) had a chance to nominate a co-worker to receive a free floral bouquet compliments of Royer’s. WSOX’s yellow van delivered the bouquets to 20 surprised and delighted administrative professionals in Lancaster and York counties.
You can hear some of the reactions by listening to these clips:
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