Detached buttonhole leaves

On Sunday morning, the Trevelyon's Cap project looked like this. The blue satin stitch flower, the long and short shaded three lobed leaves, the red and gold strawberries, the detached buttonhole stitch flower and little leaves: all of these elements seemed to work pretty well together and I was pleased with them all...except...the paler green, long, narrow leaves.I kept adding and changing things as I'd stitched them in an effort to improve how they worked with the whole. No matter what I did, they just didn't seem to fit: was it color, texture, too much going on, not enough?I asked for your input and the answers I received were helpful as well as insightful.The color contrast was not enough between the light edge of the three lobed leaves and the overall shade of green on the long, narrow leaves. As soon as I'd finished stitching with Gilt Sylke Twist 'Lincolne Green', it was obvious that the darker color was going to work better. Both the green leaves and the blue flower seemed suddenly to have more life.As I continued to stitch the second leaf in detached buttonhole stitch, I could see that the contrast of the more textured detached buttonhole stitch against the smoothness of the silk satin stitch and long and short shading was striking. Just as the Lincolne Green color highlights the darker green in the center of the shaded leaves, the difference in texture highlights the beauty of each kind of leaf.After I added the Gilt Sylke Twist thread in Isabella (gold) and the rich red Pearsall's silk strawberries, it was evident that using mainly the more jewel-like tones in the colors I'd chosen would create the best look. Rich reds, blues, greens, golds and purples will look elegant and using smooth stitches accented with a few textured elements will provide interest.Although I'm by no means an expert on detached buttonhole stitch using GST, I can say that it's getting much easier to work with the thread. I love the challenge of using a thread that makes me stitch slowly and methodically, especially when I see the piece sparkling in the sunlight!