Essential oils and flower essences bestow a concentrated dose of plant energy.

In most cases, however, you may want to work with the whole plant. You may find that if you wish to work with a particular plant, you’re obligated to grow it yourself. This may be for a variety of reasons.

* Some plants are rare to an area. You may need to nurture some indoors or order from a specialist nursery.

* What you desire may not be marketable: the alchemists treasured fresh morning dew caught upon the leaves of lady’s mantle. They called it “water from heaven” and prized it as an ingredient in many enchanted potions. If you want some {and you very well might; it’s reputed to provide a beautiful complexion!}, you’ll have to grow it and gather it yourself.

* In some cases, it’s best to have your own fresh stock of plants, to…