Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual food drive returns June 16-30.
The Royer’s Kids Club will kick it off with an event June 16 in all Royer’s stores.
Children ages 5 to 12 are asked to bring a nonperishable food item as the price of admission.
They will have an opportunity to decorate their own pot and plant marigold seeds in it and to enter the kids club birthday card design contest (the winner receives a flower delivery on his or her birthday). Each participant also will receive a balloon.
Time slots are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Registration is required by calling the nearest Royer’s store.
Category: News
We’re offering a holiday wreath-decorating class Nov. 16 and 18 in seven stores
Do-it-yourself is a whole lot easier when you start with some knowhow.
If attempts at wreath decorating have had you going in circles, or if you haven’t tried for lack of confidence or opportunity, then Royer’s is here to help.
Royer’s is hosting a holiday wreath-decorating class in seven stores Nov. 16 and 18.
Participants will learn how to make bows, set a festive table, and care for poinsettias. Of course, Royer’s staff will be available to answer questions about holiday decorating.
The cost for the 90-minute class is $50 per person and includes a fresh wreath, bows and decorations.
Participants will receive a 15 percent discount on any in-store Christmas purchase that evening.
Each class is limited to 10 people, so reserve a spot by calling your nearest store:
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16
- Lebanon, 810 S. 12th St.; 717-273-2683
- Wernersville, 366 E. Penn Ave.; 610-678-7370
- Lancaster West, 201 Rohrerstown Road; 717-397-0376
- West York, 805 Loucks Road; 717-854-7733
5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18
- Chambersburg, 7 St. Paul Drive; 717-263-1313
- Camp Hill, 3015 Gettysburg Road; 717-730-4090
- Carlisle, 100 York Road; 717-241-6100
Barnes & Noble supports ‘Bouquets for Books’ with book fairs Oct. 28-Nov. 2
Royer’s 12th annual “Bouquets for Books” event returns Oct. 28-Nov. 11. Anyone who donates a new children’s book at a Royer’s store Oct. 28-Nov. 11 will receive a free bouquet, up to three per family per visit.
The books will be presented to the public libraries in the counties where they were collected. What’s more, thanks to a Barnes & Noble book fair, the libraries can benefit even more this year.
From Oct. 28 through Nov. 2, books (not just children’s books) and most other items purchased at any Barnes & Noble store or online at bn.com/bookfairs can earn the libraries cash or Barnes & Noble gift cards. In Royer’s market, Barnes & Noble has stores in Camp Hill, Lancaster and Reading.
Each of the seven participating library systems and the independent Hershey Public Library and Middletown Public Library have been assigned a unique code for the Barnes & Noble book fair. Every time one of the codes is presented at checkout, the corresponding library will earn a percentage of that purchase.
Here are the libraries and their codes:
Berks County: 12191144
Cumberland County: 12191151
Dauphin County: 12191169
Franklin: 12191177
Lancaster County: 12191193
Lebanon County
- Annville Free Library: 12191201
- Lebanon Community Library: 12192555
- Matthews Public Library: 12192563
- Myerstown Community Library: 12192571
- Palmyra Public Library: 12192589
- Richland Community Library: 12192597
York County: 12192613
Hershey Public Library: 12191185
Middletown Public Library: 12192605
Of course, new children’s books purchased at Barnes & Noble or from any other book seller can be dropped off at Royer’s for a free bouquet.
Royer’s annual children’s book drive returns Oct. 28-Nov. 11
Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual children’s book drive returns Oct. 28-Nov. 11 to benefit area public libraries.
For each new book, donors will receive a free bouquet, up to three per family per visit, while supplies last. Used books will not be accepted.
For more information, including library wish lists, visit royers.com/bouquetsforbooks.
In its 11-year history, Bouquets for Books has collected nearly 17,000 books.
Kids club event Nov. 11 celebrates Veterans Day
Royer’s Kids Club will celebrate Veterans Day with a free event Nov. 11.
Children ages 5 to 12 will have an opportunity to make a special Veterans Day arrangement that includes an American flag.
Participants also will receive a balloon.
Time slots are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Registration is required by calling your nearest Royer’s store.
Fox 43 appearance: (home)coming attractions
Homecoming can be a nervous time for high school students.
Never mind asking someone to the dance; it can take real courage when it comes to choosing your date’s corsage or boutonniere. Rest assured, Royer’s is here to help.
That was part of the message shared today by Erica Bixby of Royer’s when she visited Fox 43 Morning News. Erica and host Amy Lutz discussed homecoming stalwarts and newer options.
“There’s a lot of fun things that are trending this year,” Erica said. “There’s floral prints. Our most popular colors are navy, blush, burgundy, those pretty fall colors. …
“If you’re not sure what color the dress is, that’s OK. Our most popular one is very simple, it’s white sweetheart roses with babies breath. And, of course for the guy, we’ll always do the matching boutonniere.”
Among the changes Royer’s has witnessed, Erica said, is corsages with one big flower, such as a mini gerbera. It’s a trend she described as “fun and flirty.”
‘Every one is different’
Standard corsages start with a white ribbon but can be spray painted (she demonstrated with green) to match a dress color. A variety of ribbons, bracelets and rhinestones can be added, as can, of course, a rainbow of flowers to make for a one-of-a-kind look.
“It’s really like artwork,” Amy said.
“And every one is different,” Erica said, “which makes it fun.”
As an alternative to a corsage, Erica suggested a hand-tied bouquet, such as the one she held up featuring sunflowers, solidago, mini green hydrangeas, Italian ruscus, and seeded eucalyptus with a burlap bow.
Erica noted that it’s a good idea to consider a date’s mother, too, at homecoming.
“It’s always good to bring mom some flowers,” Erica said, holding a rose bouquet.
“And that’s [true] for the guy or girl,” Amy said.
“Or if somebody’s hosting for pictures, it’s always nice to bring them a little something.”
To view the segment, click here.
Of course, you’ll find homecoming help at all of our stores, or try out our corsage builder.
Highlights from our fall catalog
Every year, we introduce a fall catalog that contains approximately 20 percent new products. We asked Geoff Royer, Royer’s area manager and a member of the product development team, to describe how some of the new arrangements came about. Here’s what he told us:
3617
One of the tasks of the product development team was to come up with more arrangements that are specific to birthdays. This arrangement does just that with the birthday bear that’s attached to the vase.
This is the fourth in our lineup of Big Hugs vases. We also have redesigned the baby boy and baby girl versions of that style.
3618 and 3619
We realized in the spring that we could do better on the pricing of the mini callas than we had before so we opted to develop a few arrangements with them.
3631–3633
This collection of arrangements is a new style for us, each one in a nine-inch glass bowl that we’d never carried before. We used them in some new lifestyle shots we are using to enhance our brochure and websites.
3644 (photo above)
This addition features several flowers that are new to us, namely the Memphis daisy pom, charmellia alstromeria, and Nobbio cherry carnation.
We had featured Memphis at previous holidays. We loved the color and the lateral lengths on the daisy but no one grew it year-round until now.
Charmellia is a new product in the floral world. It lasts incredibly long and, as it opens, it changes from dark pink to a lighter pink.
The colors and variegation of the Nobbio cherry petals are like nothing we’d ever seen. This carnation is from a farm called Geoflora, which is associated with South American carnation breeder S.B. Talee.
Talee developed the Nobbio series in response to a Japanese market that wanted something beyond the standard red, white and pink combination with a longer stem length. We can take the sizes the Japanese markets don’t want at a good price.
Refresh: Royer’s launches new website
Temperatures go from warm to cool, green leaves turn gold, red, orange.
And just as fall is the season of change in the natural world, it can be in the digital realm, too.
At Royer’s, this fall coincides with the launch of our new website. It’s still at royers.com, of course, but it has a fresh, crisp new look and functionality that should make the shopping experience even more fulfilling. (This look also is evident in our e-blasts and printed fall catalog.)
Among the improvements, both functionally and aesthetically:
- The website now features “responsive” design, which means that it adjusts to the size of the browser in which it is viewed. We realize that customers shop online from different-sized screens, from desktop to laptop, tablet to smart phone.
- Additional filters help shoppers more readily find what they’re looking for. For instance, instead of just searching by price across all products, it’s now possible to narrow that search by categories. Soon you’ll be able to filter by flower and color, too.
- Arrangements are shown bigger and scale according to screen size.
- Text is set against transparent colors, allowing more of the background flower images to shine through.
- If the curvy page designs have a familiar feel, it’s because they are macro-views of actual flower shapes. The size, color and placement of the shapes are not determined by templates but rather are unique to each layout. This allows the layouts to remain fresh and change with the seasons.
What do you think of our new website? We’d like to hear from you. Please share your comments below, or let us know the next time you visit one of our stores.
Planting the seeds for a successful school year
New shirts, new shoes. Backpacks and notebooks. No doubt, one or more of those items was on your shopping list if you’re a parent preparing a child for the first day of school.
Don’t forget a little something for your child’s teacher and classroom.
A plant is a great option, not only for aesthetic reasons but certain ones help to improve indoor air quality. What’s more, the presence of plants has been shown to boost productivity and reduce stress, which can enhance a learning environment.
With the help of Cheryl Brill, Royer’s vice president of retail operations, and other resources, we compiled a list of plants that will help sow the seeds for a great new school year.
Cheryl’s list started with Chinese evergreens (aka aglaonemas), peace lilies, philodendrons and spider plants, each of which is great for cleaning the air, she said. What’s more, they’re easy to take care of and don’t require a lot of bright light.
As their name suggests, spider plants have tendrils or plantlets that grow out from the mother plant.
“That would be kind of fun for a grade-school situation,” Cheryl said.
For more on plants and air quality, click here.
Classroom conversation
Meanwhile, air plants aren’t that effective at cleaning the air, Cheryl said, but they are intriguing because they grow without soil. Also known as tillandsia, air plants are a type of bromeliad and relative of the pineapple.
Air plant leaves have scales, called trichomes, that absorb water and nutrients from the air.
“We just dunk them in a bucket of water every week or so,” Cheryl said, suggesting how easy it is to care for air plants.
The air plant’s unique characteristics alone make for a great classroom conversation. What’s more, they’re available at Royer’s in quirky “thinkers” containers.
Thinkers is what we want students to be, after all. Another plant option that can captivate a classroom is a terrarium, which only needs to be watered weekly. Cheryl described them as “neat to look at” and as providing “a little tranquil spot.”
Heaven knows, a bustling school can use a tranquil spot or two.
Royer’s ‘Power of Pink’ arrangement raises $2,640 for Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition
Royer’s has donated $2,640 to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.
For each sale of its “Power of Pink” arrangement, Royer’s donates $10 to breast cancer organizations, including $7,730 to the coalition since 2015.
Based in Lebanon, the coalition (pabreastcancer.org) represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families in Pennsylvania through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants.
The Power of Pink arrangement, redesigned annually, is available year-round.
Photo: From left, Kristen Snoke, community outreach director, PA Breast Cancer Coalition, and Jaime Kevles, marketing coordinator, Royer’s.