If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know that the past couple of weeks have been… eventful. What started as a few customers struggling to check out on the old website quickly snowballed into something much bigger, and before I knew it, I was rebuilding the entire Collie Flowers website from scratch.

Yes. All of it.

Hundreds of pages.

Every product.

Every growing guide.

Every blog.

Every monthly gardening task.

Luckily for me, the husband is currently on holiday so I've had some spare time on an evening and over the weekend to rattle through it all. 

Why the change?

For the past couple of months, I’d been getting messages from customers saying they couldn’t complete their orders. I found a workaround, some customers wanted to use it, others didn’t, and I have no idea how many quietly gave up. That alone was enough to make my stomach drop. The last thing I ever want is for someone to feel frustrated trying to support a small business.

Then came the curveball: My website provider announced they were retiring the product my entire shop was built on.

No upgrade path. No simple transfer. Just… rebuild it, or suck up the huge costs of staying on an out-dated product.

Staying would have meant a huge price increase; one I couldn’t absorb without passing it on to you. And that’s not how I run Collie Flowers.

So rebuilding became the only option.

Rebuilding a website… in the dark

January isn’t exactly prime gardening season. It’s cold, it’s dark, and by the time the kids are in bed, there’s not much to do outside. So I did what any sensible person would do: I rebuilt a website instead.

Night after night, laptop glowing, coffee going cold beside me, and a to‑do list that seemed to grow faster than my broad beans in spring.

And somewhere around 9pm last night, I hit that point every small business owner knows:

“It’s dark, I’m tired, and if I keep going I’ll break something.”

So I made the decision to choose good enough over perfect - because sometimes that’s the only way to move forward.

What’s ready (and what’s coming in a few days)

The good news:

• The shop is fully rebuilt - there's even some new things in there

• All veg growing guides are live

• Monthly gardening tasks are ready

• Blogs are ready

• Navigation is smoother

• Checkout actually works (hallelujah)

The honest news: The flower and herb guides need a few more days. For now, they’ll temporarily link back to the old website so you can still access everything you need.

I’d rather be transparent than pretend everything is magically perfect on day one.

A fresh start, and a thank you

This new website is faster, more reliable, easier to navigate, and built with the future of Collie Flowers in mind. It’s been a huge job, but I’m so proud of how it’s turned out — and so grateful for your patience while I’ve been quietly working away behind the scenes.

To celebrate the move, enjoy:

🌱 20% off site‑wide until 8 February

It'll automatically do this for you at checkout, and it’s my way of saying thank you for sticking with me through the chaos, the curveballs, and the late‑night rebuilds.

Here’s to a fresh start, a smoother shopping experience, and a very exciting year ahead for Collie Flowers.

Nic x