It's very impressive for a first attempt!
I've got Sony 717, so I guess my camera behaves pretty much like yours. The autofocus in macro mode is pretty impressive, but to be on the safe side use a small tripod and a self-timer. If you really bothered about the distracting background, carry with you two pieces of card (white and black) to use as a background for emergencies.
Take a note where your light source is - it is so easy to block it or cast your own shadow on whatever you are photographing. I did some test pictures of crocuses in the neighbourhood park several days ago and toward the end of the shoot the sun changed position, I stopped concentrating and blocked the light on some of them...Uh..
Another thing: sometimes when you focus on a single small object within centimeters, the part closest to the camera will be sharp and the rest of it blurred, which is annoying if you want to throw only the background out of focus. I guess this is what happened to your picture of a snail. In this case either back up and zoom a bit, or try to narrow your aperture slightly to ensure the flower is sharp and preview on screen if it's OK. You may need to adjust exposure, as the image may go darker.
Good luck!
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