This is all very good advice about tripods and heads. But I am going to suggest that you consider just carrying a $3 3/8" wood pole from home depot to steady the camera in your hand. I do lots of macrophotography, and unless you are going well over 1:1 or are especially shaky, you can freeze any camera movement at 1/200 shutter speed and a well diffused flash.
I used to lug my tripod out to the fields and woods because I thought that macro = tripods. It was a pain, and completely unnecessary except for very high magnification. I saw that my freehand pictures (with the pole pinned between my left hand and camera, to steady movements) were not one bit different from my tripod pictures. The freedom & versatility can't be beat. Up to you, but i would leave my tripod at home.

For low level, macro shooting I do not like the tripods with the center columns that rotate to horizontal or beyond. Those tend to be pretty unstable, with the weight of a camera and lens hanging off to one side or the other.

Instead use a tripod with a reversible center column, so that the camera and lens are hanging "below" the tripod. This is much more stable support.

I usually simply use a standard ballhead with it. But for macro purposes I also often fit that with one or rack & pinion gear drive "focus rails". (Similar to what's pictured in some earlier responses.)

Now, three macro lenses I use (65mm, 100mm and 180mm) all have tripod mounting rings, which facilitate fitting them below a tripod in this manner. But is possible to do so even with smaller lenses without tripod rings (I have more compact 60mm and 90mm macro lenses without rings, but mostly use those handheld).

Highly reliable and stable quality doesn't have to drain your bank account. For exampletripod I use is an older model carbon fiber Gitzo Systematic Series-3 G1348 Mark II that I bought used but like new for $325, including a G1318 Rapid Center Column and free shipping... then fitted it with a $60 Smith-Victor BH8 ballhead.... under $400 total (tho I actually spent a bit more to add LegCoats and a nice carrying bag). The closest currently available model Gitzo is the GT3542LS leg set that sells for $960, GS3513S center column that costs $240, and various ballheads that can cost $250, $350, $450 or more. $400 versus $1400-$1600?... Sort of a no-brainer!

There are other brands and models where similar savings are possible.

Something I highly recommend is the Arca-Swiss quick release system.... It makes for faster, easier setup, and is secure, reliable. It's also fairly universal, used in a wide variety of products from various manufacturers... anti-twist camera plates and lens plates, quick release platforms, etc. It's actually required in some cases, such as with most gimbals. Long Arca-Swiss style lens plates can serve as a "focus slider", sort of a "budget" macro focusing rail.

Have you ever used a better tripod? Flimsy is a bit of a relative term. The little $300, 2.3 lb Feisol CT3342 is rated to a 55 lb load, which says nothing at all about it's stability, but compared to a tripod where the manufacturer only rates theirs to 15 lbs, or even 22 lbs - hell, there is no question which one is less flimsy and what I would use to place a couple of thousand dollars worth of camera gear on top of. If I remember correctly, the 323 sold for about $275 with the head, and the Feisol sells for $300.

If you aren't terribly hung up on a name (and consequently the price tag to go with it) there are choices out there.

Several months ago I bought a Vanguard Alta Pro 263CP with a PH32 head and so far I have been very pleased with it.

In English, it's a three legged carbon fiber tripod with a 3-way pan/tilt head. The legs will spread out to about 80 degrees which is lower than my worn out knees will tolerate. The center post comes out and can be turned upside down for weird views of the world and the collar at the top pivots to that you can do straight down shots over table tops and such which worked great for some recent product pictures that I did.

Are you ready for the best part? The grand total came to $266.00, just a skosh more than half of your budget for the Benro.

if cost is not a concern then check out Really Right Stuff. My point is, there are options that don't require taking out a second mortgage for your hobby. Good luck with your search.

The vast majority of flowers are large enough they don't really require a true macro lens..... just one that's relatively close-up capable.

Shooting low angles is often easier with a camera that has an articulated LCD screen (i.e., fold out and swivel), so you aren't lying on the ground trying to get your eye to the viewfinder or see a fixed screen on the rear of the camera.

However, more and more cameras have built-in Wifi. That might allow a smart phone or a laptop to be used as an auxiliary viewfinder.

A DSLR or mirrorless camera that allows interchangeable lenses would give you the most flexibility down the road, simply get and use a different lens if and when you need it. Currently there are a lot more choices of lenses for DSLRs, than there are for mirrorless cameras. Nikon and Canon have the largest selection of lenses, by far. Also, all third party lens manufacturers make lenses for Canon and Nikon, sometimes not for other camera brands.

You can pick up a pretty darned nice, entry-level Nikon or Canon DSLR in kit with a decent "walk-around" lens for under $1000. If that kit lens isn't close enough focusing, just get a set of Macro Extension Tubes. Those can be easily used to make practically any lens closer focusing (a set of Kenko tubes for Canon or Nikon cost about $120... there are others from Opteka and Zeikos for under $100, that are a little more "plasticky", but work just fine with relatively lightweight lenses and cameras).

To make your money go a little farther, as someone already suggested you might consider used... or factory refurbished. The latter are often demo models from trade shows or stores, with almost no "mileage" and the same warranty as new. In the U.S., Nikon sells their refurbs through a couple of the biggest stores (I've recently seen some at B&H Photo). Canon sells their refurbs directly, though their online store. For example, I just looked and noticed the Canon store is offering the Rebel T6i in kit with EF-S 18-55mm IS STM and EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lenses is on sale for $660 right now. Bought new, that kit normally sells for about $1200. It's also discounted, though, to $900. There is an even cheaper kit substituting an EF 75-300mm lens instead of the EF-S 55-250mm... However I'd recommend the latter lens instead. It's got better images quality, faster and quieter auto focus, and image stabilization. It's well worth the extra $30 or $40.

The Rebel T6i is a couple steps up from Canon's most entry level models. In fact, it's one of the more advanced Rebel models Canon has ever offered (one model, the T6s, is more advanced and the top of the Rebel series line... most of it's differences are video-related). The T6i is a 24 megapixel, APS-C "crop" sensor camera. It has a fairly advanced 19-point AF system (inherited from earlier 70D and slightly dumbed down from original 7D model). It has an articulated LCD screen, touch screen control, and built-in Wifi.

Both the Canon 18-55mm and 55-250mm lenses can do close to 1/3 life size on their own. That's pretty close-up... roughly a subject 45 x 66mm (1.75 x 2.6 inches). Adding a 12mm or 20mm extension tube behind either of those lenses would give even higher magnification. Alternatively, both lenses use 58mm filters and Canon makes 500D and 250D "diopter" lenses in that size, which can be fitted to make either lens focus closer (but, considering cost and their greater versatility, I prefer to use macro extension tubes). Later if you find you really want one, there are a lot of different macro lenses to choose among. Canon themselves makes six different ones. And there are probably a eight or ten others made by third party lens manufacturers, for use on Canon cameras. Nikon has a similar selection.

I'm using a Canon example because that's what I'm most familiar with. But you can probably find roughly the equivalent from Nikon, and possibly similar in other brands.

You also might also want to consider a tripod, a flash and diffusion panels to shade subjects from strong, contrasty sunlight. All these can be handy for flower close-ups.

Bigger sensor, faster lens means more background blur. Like others have said, much of Dorothy's work is close up as opposed to true macro. Thus a macro lens isn't needed (unless you are shooting tiny flowers), but a fast lens is, as by opening up the aperture, the depth of focus decreases. It helps to keep the background as far back as possible (not always possible). I have both an APS-C DSLR & M4/3 cameras. The M4/3 has an even smaller sensor than the DSLR, thus DOF is greater & it's harder to get the blur (or Bokeh if you prefer that term). You can get the blur, but regardless of the sensor size, you will likely have to get a close focusing ,fast (meaning expensive) lens. There are some fairly fast lenses that won't cost an arm & a leg (50 mm F1.8 comes to mind for DSLR's) but they tend to be fixed focal length & may hinder your composition. I shoot some close up flower shots (I have an album over on Flickr). Many of my shts were with a true macro lens (I like documenting tiny wild flowers) but there are others taken with a non macro 50mm F 1.4. I'd say go with a DSLR for the most versatility, albeit at the cost of size/weight. I'm attaching an image of a tiny Elephant's foot flower that I spotted out along the road where I walk my dog. Taken with a DSLR & true macro lens as the flower is about the size of a dime...