When gathering as a Botanist, the gathering window normally (while not using the skill "Preparation"), shows the number of items you already have in inventory like this:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/...reparation.png
However, when you use the Botanist skill Preparation, the Perception requirements overwrite that information and it shows up like this:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/...reparation.png