Veronica,

I'm a gardening newbie as well, but here is what I've learned recently. The male flowers are on stems, like regular flowers. The females are on the end of the fruit itself.

I didn't know if I would be able to tell the difference until I found the first female yesterday. Here's a photo. You can definitely see the beginnings of a zucchini.

{{gwi:1270548}}

Hmmm, maybe its my computer settings, but I dont see a picture attachment anywhere.... But you're saying that you can tell whether its male or female even if the bloom is closed?

Hmm, that's odd, it shows up on my end. Give this link a try, Veronica.

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1546/200906070732.jpg