Flowers Flowers Everywhere

I'm finding it almost impossible to achieve a sharper image throughout the photo without a flash and a tripod that will get very low. When I set my f-stop in the f18 to f22 or higher range, the exposure time is increased significantly and handholding the camera can't be done. My tripod doesn't get low enough and I either have to use on camera flash or my hot shoe flash with some type of diffuser on it to blunt the harsh light. I'm still working on a fix. Suggestions and advice are more than welcome. Actually, I can use all the help I can get with this macro stuff. I have to admit though, blueplanet made a good point, I do like the abstract appearance or "extract" appearance. It draws my eye.