If you’re Fox 43 Morning News and you want to talk about Thanksgiving flower and gift trends, you know that Barry Spengler is happy to oblige.
Barry, Royer’s vice president of operations and a regular guest on Fox 43, shared ideas for centerpieces, giftware and hostess gifts with Heather Warner. You can view the segment by clicking here.
Photos from Barry’s appearance:
Our annual book drive — Bouquets for Books — returns Nov. 1-9 to collect new children’s books for the library systems in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties and the Hershey Public Library.
Here are the wish lists provided by the libraries:
Berks County Public Libraries
Series:
American Girl
Babymouse
Berenstain Bears
Big Nate
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Disney books
Fairy Books by Daisy Meadows
Fancy Nancy
Kitty Corner
Lego/Lego figures
Magic Ballerina
Phineas & Ferb
Princess books
Puppy Place
Miss Spider
Skippyjon Jones
Superheroes
Television tie-in books
Authors:
Eric Carle
Rosemary Wells
Mo Willems
Other:
Winter holiday books (including holidays other than Christmas)
Book series for teens:
Ashfall trilogy by Mike Mullin
Books by Ellen Hopkins
Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
Gone series by Michael Grant
Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Legend trilogy by Marie Lu
Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore
The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dasher
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Paladin Prophecy series by Mark Frost
Starters trilogy by Lissa Price
The Testing trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau
Cumberland County Library System
Any book from these series:
A to Z Mysteries
Bailey School Kids
Geronimo Stilton
My Weird School
Picture books:
This is the Farmer by Nancy Tafuri
Maisy’s Bedtime by Lucy Cousins
Maisy Cleans Up by Lucy Cousins
Curious George (all titles)
Pete the Cat by Litwin (any titles) (Pete’s Big Lunch and Play Ball are early readers)
Elephant and Piggie by Willems (any titles)
Dora or Diego books
Star Wars early readers (especially Lego ones; Attack of the Clones and Phantom Menace are examples
I Stink, I’m Dirty, and/or I’m Mighty by McMullen
The Long, Long Line by Tomoko Ohmura
The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty
Simpson’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep! by Bruce Arant
Dauphin County Library System
Anything written by:
Mo Willems
Eric Carle
Dr. Seuss
Rosemary Wells
Sandra Boynton
Rick Riordan
Cassandra Clare
Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)
Any book in these series:
Theodore Boone by John Grisham
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
39 Clues or 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers by various authors
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce
I Spy by Jean Marzollo
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Middle School by James Patterson
Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
American Girls by Various Authors
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
Hershey Public Library
Wish list not received
Lebanon County Libraries
Annville Free Library
Katie Woo series by Fran Munushkin
Big Sisters are the Best
Big Brothers are the Best
Katie’s Lucky Birthday
Boss of the World
Katie Woo Rules the School
Katie Woo and Friends
The Tricky Tooth
No More Teasing
Katie’s New Shoes
Katie Woo Loves School
Lebanon Community Library
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
When Lions Roar by Robie H. Harris
Treasure on the Tracks by Rev. W. Awdry
Thumpy Feet by Betsy Lewin
On My Way to Bed by Sarah Maizes
Not so Fast, Bash and Dash by Rev. W. Awdry
LEGO Ninjago #8: The Green Ninja by Tracey West
Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O’Connor
Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy Sees the Future by Jane O’Connor
The Day the Crayons Quit by Oliver Jeffers
Matthews Public Library
Dream Animals: A Bedtime Story by Emily Winfield Martin
Journey by Aaron Becker
Hello, My Name is Ruby by Philip Stead
Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner
The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleishman
Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
Dream Friends by You Byum
The Great Lollipop Caper by Dan Krall
Toys in Space by Mini Grey
Oh So Tiny Bunny by David Kirk
Max and Milo Go to Sleep! By Heather Long
Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
Spike: The Ugliest Dog in the Universe by Debra Frasier
Blanket & Bear, a Remarkable Pair by L.J.R. Kell
Myerstown Community Library
When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Bang
Bone by Jeff Smith
I Took the Moon for a Walk by Caroline Curtis
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
An Egg is Quiet by Diana Ashton
Peek-a-Who? by Nina Laden
My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis
Palmyra Public Library
Freddy the Frogcaster by Janice Dean
Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by James Dean
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin
Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Anything is Possible by Giulia Belloni
Hello, My Name is Ruby by Philip C. Stead
The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech
Amelia Bedelia Means Business by Herman Parish
Amelia Bedelia Unleashed by Herman Parish
Amelia Bedelia Road Trip! by Herman Parish
Richland Community Library
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
Silly Goose’s Big Story by Keiko Kasza
Llama Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney
Rabbit’s Snow Dance by Jeff Newman
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud
The Listening Walk by David Kirk
Olivia and the Babies by Jodi Shepherd
Olivia and the Haunted Hotel by Jodie Shepherd
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? by Eric Carle
Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois
Library System of Lancaster County
Any titles in these series:
Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer
Berenstain Bears
Curious George
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Froggy books by Jonathan London
Franklin books by Paulette Bourgeois
Caillou by Pierre Brignaud
Thomas the Tank Engine
My Little Pony
Capital Mysteries by Ron Roy
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Smurfs
Jake and the Pirates
Beginner Reader books such as I Can Read, Rookie Readers
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Beginner Readers
Fancy Nancy Beginner Readers
Super Heroes Beginner Readers
Barbie Beginner Readers
Star Wars Beginner Readers
Pete the Cat Beginner Readers
Dora Beginner Readears
Seasonal & Holiday books
Books by these authors/illustrators:
Dr. Seuss, Margaret Wise Brown, Mo Willems, Eric Carle
Books about these subjects:
Tractors, Trucks, Trains, Planes
Dinosaurs
Shapes
Alphabet
Colors
Legos
Doctors, dentists, going to daycare, going to school
York County Libraries
Caldecott or Newberry award winners
Board books
Lego books
Holiday books
Wimpy Kids titles by Jeff Kinney
Board books with flaps, touchy spots and moveable parts
How to Heal a Broken Wing by Graham
More More More said the Baby by Williams
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon by Lovell
The OK Book by Rosenthal
Chicken Big by Graves
Baby Cakes by Wilson
Little Blue Truck by Schertle
Make a mental bookmark for Nov. 1-9.
That’s when our annual “Bouquets for Books” book drive returns to collect new children’s books for area public libraries.
It’s really simple – and rewarding – for you to help out.
Just bring a new book to any of our stores during the event, and you will receive a free bouquet (up to three bouquets per family per visit, while supplies last).
In its seven-year history, Bouquets for Books has collected more than 10,000 books for the libraries.
“Where will I wander and wonder?
Nobody knows
But wherever I`m going I`ll go
In search of a Rose”
–From the song “In Search of a Rose” by The Waterboys
that are grown specifically for Royer’s Flowers.
Just after Labor Day, Tom Royer is going in search of a certain type of rose.
“We don’t want a rose,” said Tom, Royer’s senior vice president and chief operating officer. “We want a rose. We want the best rose and that’s what we need to do to be competitive in our business, is find the best of the best.
“We pride ourselves in doing that. Our flowers last longer, they’re bigger. We constantly have to be looking at all the things that are available to us to make what we do in the flower business better than what anybody else does.”
Tom, who visits flower farms in South America multiple times each year, will be returning to Quito, Ecuador, to meet with three or four rose growers (and a lily grower).
In some ways, this is nothing new. Tom is always in pursuit of better-looking, longer-lasting flowers.
“I’m constantly looking at farms,” Tom said. “It’s just now that the focus has been more on Ecuadoran roses.”
Specifically, he is looking for roses that have bigger head sizes, consistently. It costs more to ship fresh-cut roses from Quito than from Bogota, Colombia, the single-biggest source of Royer’s roses.
“So all things being equal, why would you buy from Quito?” Tom said.
“Well, Ecuadoran roses have always had a little bigger head size, and we’re focusing more and more on that.”
While its farms are capable of growing roses comparable to what is found in Quito, Bogota experiences more rain and clouds that can be detrimental to head size.
One of the growers that Royer’s buys from in Colombia also operates farms in Quito.
“And so we’re getting some of their Ecuadoran farm’s (roses)” and comparing with the ones from Bogota. “And the thing you see is the head size is bigger.”
Tom’s trip will help him determine which one or two farms in Quito he will work with.
“But we’re experimenting with them because you can’t just get a shipment and say, oh, OK, great, this is wonderful or it’s terrible. One shipment doesn’t tell the story. You have to do it over a number of months.”
And even then it’s a never-ending process.
“But wherever I`m going I`ll go
In search of a Rose”
Wherever he’s going, Tom is in search of a rose, too. The best rose he can find.
Our third-annual “Royer’s Stems Hunger” food drive collected 2,486 pounds of non-perishable items for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank.
From June 21 to 29, Royer’s asked customers to drop off donations at any of our 17 Royer’s in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. In return, customers received a free carnation for each food item, up to a maximum of six carnations per family per visit.
This year’s donations exceeded the amount of food collected in the food drive’s first two years combined.
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank distributes more than 16 million pounds of food and grocery products every year to more than 600 soup kitchens, shelters and food pantries in 27 central Pennsylvania counties.
The Greater Berks Food Bank collects, stores and distributes food to more than 270 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, after-school programs, and senior housing facilities in Berks, Schuylkill and western Montgomery counties.
We’ve extended the deadline for the Royer’s Kids Club birthday card design contest until Aug. 7.
Between now and then, download the entry form here, create your birthday card design, and drop it off at your nearest Royer’s.
If we pick your design, we will use it for the birthday card that every kids club member receives on his or her special day. And for winning, you will receive a free flower delivery on your birthday.
So get out your markers and crayons and get drawing!
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.