Depth of Field

I'm drawn to flower photos with a shallow depth of field, and that soft dreamy look.  The shots I love most are usually taken with a Lensbaby, as in this photo taken by my good friend (and mentor) osuzanna/Suzanne.  She let me borrow one of her lenses a while back, and I was not particularly successful with it.  There's a bit of a learning curve, and I probably wasn't patient enough.  For my next birthday I think I'll put a Lensbaby on the list, and give it a better go.  In the mean time, I've decided to see what I can get out of my macro lens, using  a wide aperture.  It was good timing, since it's Flower Friday.  Thank you for hosting Anni!