Hello, I have a very small flower essence making business in Northern Idaho, and I work with customers, their pets, some health care practitioners and people involved in animal rescue. Because I am so small I can give individual attention to each person or business and each bottle I make up. I think it's important that you get to know about my process and my standards so you can feel sure of what you are getting if you choose me as your essence source.

1. The Selection. I like to use plants from the area. I'm not a stickler about natives vs noxious, I don't care that St Johns Wort is an import, it grows wild here so I'm going to use it. The reason I like wild plants is because I think we have a greater energetic connection to the plants growing around us. Essences from Austraila and Hawaii might seem interesting but really, you're more likely to get a deeper healing from the thistle growing out by the back step. That said, no plant is really off limits, I work from my garden and my friends, sometimes I just go knock on a door if I see something I really need. You won't find any wild zinnias here.
Bach was picky about what flowers were right for the job, but I've seen merit in all of them. After I made sow thistle I found out it was one that he made and later rejected. I don't know why, it seems as important as any of them.

2. The Harvesting. Some essence makers will go out and sit with the plant and meditate, attune to and ask the plants permission to make an essence. I don't, not because I find the idea of communicating with the flora rediculous, I read The Secret Life of Plants, but because God said we have dominion and to me it seems like to ask the plants permission is to go against what He said. So I go out and I talk to them, mostly explaining what I'm up to and after that I'm just praying and asking for the best healing energy.
For the technical stuff, I adhere to Bach's methods using sun-potentization as much as I can. I don't feel that boiling is quite right but with some of the winter bloomers and woodier plant material I think you have to. I think if Bach had lived in my climate he would've used the sun more.
I don't touch the flowers, I don't touch the inside of the bowl, I don't touch the droppers. Everything gets cleaned with sea salt between uses. I buy bottled "spring water" to use. I know it's not spring water but I figure if it can sit on the shelf without growing things then that's what I need. I buy Idaho Ice most of the time to keep with that "local vibe." Everything is made on site so nothing is lost between the flower leaving the plant and hitting the water. I always use either clear glass or crystal bowls. Some makers use crystals or pyramids to amplify their essences. I have a little electronic gizmo and I've thought about it but I just don't think that would be beneficial. The nice thing about flower essences that they are very gentle. They don't go in and overhaul your personality. They make little changs in the way you look at your circumstances and little by little, the issues as Bach put it, "melt like snow in the sun." We're always thinking we know better than nature and that attitude never gets us anywhere good.
My aunt went out on a flower expedition with me last summer and was observing my process. She reminded me that I made these when I was 5 and sold them for .75. I apparently had no quality control back then. She said, "You might've had 'em in your grubby little hand for half an hour before they landed in the water and you used any old bowl and the dog drank out of it but you didn't care. Wait til I tell Jeanette (my other aunt) that you're still doing this and you've raised your prices!"
Then I remembered when I was a little older, maybe 13, I made color essences and I didn't really understand what I was doing then either. I'd read about colors being healing so I put some water in colored bottles and set them in the window for awhile and then drank the water. So on some level I was onto something early on. I just didn't really understand the full extent of vibrational medicine. Now I get it and I still can't believe it. I'm always amazed. I don't see how this happens without God.

3. Where the descriptions come from. So far, I have been picking flowers with a lot of documentation from good sources behind them. I don't intuit any of the essences or if I do, I don't rely soley. I pay attention to the doctrine of signatures but don't rely on it either. It simply rounds out my understanding of the essence portrait. I choose plants that have numerous case studies showing a common theme.

With bottling, I chose to use 1 oz colored glass dropper bottles to keep out the light. Most other makers use 1/4 - 1/2 oz bottles and charge more. I would save .05 by giving you a 1/2 oz bottle instead of a 1 oz, so I decided to eat the nickel and give you more to play with. These are really affordable so no need to ration. Put them in all your drinks, put 'em in your bathwater, shake some up in your shampoo bottle. I hope you find what you need here and I'm always available to help. -Seneca