Once you have start FFXIV, you will need to become a Botanist first, just find your npc tool seller and get the weapons(). You will need a hatchet in main hand and a scythe in offhand to max the gathering (hatchet for trees, scythe for bushes).
After that you have become a Botanist, you should go out to the field and start scanning for vegetation. You can do this with your first skill(buy ffxiv gil) Arbor Call. This skill has a 10 seconds recast and it will tell you by a System message on your chatbox where to start gathering, just follow the instructions:
In this example, your sense skill has determined that there is a Grade 2 (in this case you can use Arbor Call II so the grade of the tree was better, you will be getting grade 1 ones) to the east, start by looking at your minimap tab and go to that direction! Keep refreshing the skill so you know if you are getting near and in the correct way!
There is a skill that you get at Rank 3 called Triangulate: This skill will grant you a speed buff if the tree you are searching for is too far, making the search faster. From what everybody seems to notice is that 200 yalms are 2 squares on your map, so keep this in mind just to orient yourself. Every tree you start to chop will have a determined amount of times to gather, that they raise as you rank up.
