Blooms & Beyond Blog

  • Carlisle resident wins Royer’s name-the-arrangement contest

    Janet Wright said a carousel reminds her of an amusement park and happiness. That’s the vibe she was going for with her winning entry, “Carousel of Color,” in Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual name-the-arrangement contest. Wright, of Carlisle, said she entered just once. Hers was among nearly 1,500 online submissions received between late July and…

  • Mum grower Frysville Farms near Ephrata is almost as old as America

    There’s a bar in the East Village of Manhattan that opened its doors in 1854. A sign in the window greets patrons young and old with a pointed message: “We were here before you were born.” In northern Lancaster County, Pa., Frysville Farms bests the bar by three-quarters of a century, tracing its origin to…

  • Paige Hershey is this year’s winner of the Royer’s Kids Club birthday card design contest

    Lancaster County’s Paige Hershey didn’t sit idle during the pandemic. For one thing, the East Lampeter Township 12-year-old got busy entering contests. One was for photography, another for writing. “She’s just driven,” said Paige’s mother, Heather. That drive led to success for the seventh-grader. Paige had the winning entry in this year’s Royer’s Flowers &…

  • You name it, you win it: Royer’s new arrangement

    Every year for various reasons, Royer’s Flowers reworks approximately half of its arrangements. This year, one of those makeovers is the focus of Royer’s annual name-the-arrangement contest. This design features a clear dimple vase filled with sunflowers, carnations, daisy poms and charmelia, with accents of golden solidago and purple asters. It’s only lacking a name.…

  • Entries due July 15 for this year’s Royer’s Kids Club birthday card contest

    Just in time for summer vacation, the Royer’s Kids Club has a challenge for children ages 5 to 12. We’re looking for our next birthday card design, one that all kids club members will receive in the year ahead. As a reward, the designer of the winning entry will receive a free bouquet delivery on…

  • Royer’s Flowers donates $3,000 to Helping Harvest Food Bank

    For every dollar donated, Helping Harvest can acquire $20 worth of food to help people in need in Berks and Schuylkill counties. By that measure, the food bank will leverage a $3,000 donation from Royer’s Flowers & Gifts into $60,000 worth of food. Tom Royer, president and CEO of Lebanon-based Royer’s, said the donation reflects…

  • Brighten up your back yard with rugged outdoor canvas art

    Sue Pappas needed a name for her business that was free of any potential trademark issues. She settled on West of the Wind. “I don’t know why, and it’s a very odd name,” she allowed, but it was one she thought no one else in her industry would have. Winds of change would blow, however.…

  • Royer’s Flowers funds 90,000 meals with $15,000 donation to Central PA Food Bank

    Every dollar donated to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank can provide six nutritious meals to people in need. By that measure, Royer’s Flowers & Gifts will fund 90,000 meals with its $15,000 donation to the Harrisburg-based food bank, which serves 27 counties. Of its 16 stores overall, family-owned Royer’s operates 13 (including one Stephenson’s Flowers…

  • Need help sorting out clovers from shamrocks? You’re in luck

    I’m looking over a four-leaf clover that I over looked before. Most of us have heard the song by that name, which also happens to be its first line. But you’re in rare company if you’ve actually come across a four-leaf clover in the wild. Your odds of finding one? One in 10,000, according to…

  • Love story: Kimberly and Christopher Lombardo

    Kimberly Lombardo is always interested in learning how couples connected. For instance, one couple she knows began as rivals in a local softball league. She accidentally hit him in the face with a softball and broke his nose. She took him to the emergency room and then to dinner. Kimberly allowed that she entered Royer’s…