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Also shooting at the "magic hour" that time of day right at dusk that gives a real soft light.

"Bottom line: the longer the focal length, the shorter the depth of field."

the depth of field (measured in f-stops) at a given focal length does not vary regardless of what lens you use.

quakerotis, on 07 April 2011 - 09:04 AM, said:

Agreed. For an in-depth description:http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

Other points for photographing flowers: make sure you've got an obvious subject, make sure you do not have anything 'sticking out of the subject', such as the stem of a plant behind, or a blade of grass in front. Also get down low and look for more interesting perspectives: avoid the 'walk-up' shots.

Hagen
2hphotography.ca

Get two or three spits like are used to roast meat. You can stick these in the ground to hold your windbreak, gently hold unwanted branches out of the picture, hold the flower stem in place, or a number of other uses.
Using a out-of-focus, contrasting backgrould — like green leaves — can make the flower jump out in the picture (see the examples above.) Using the same type of flower as the background is much more difficult to do, but it can be done with care; possibly by shading the background flowers.

Also realize that shooting at the end of the day will introduce color casts; either adjust white balance or edit in post-production.