A few more, still playing.

Colour or mono;

Colour preferred in the first pair due to rust/water contrast.

The third is a nice composition but I think the foreground is a little too blurry so slightly distracting. Did you shoot this one again (or similar) with a narrower aperture?

Yes I too prefer the colour. The aperture stayed I believe the same, 5.6 I think, but I deliberately got in too close to the seed heads for same effect of blur, breaking the hyperfocal if you like, I had been trying the same with flowers but they didn't fair too good, 😅 but no didn't shoot another as no time, swmbo is now
Somewhat under my care.

Ps, I had Snap setting on with focus distance set at least 2.5 meters. Hence hyperfocal comment.

Here's one that was taken at f2.8 but I wasn't too happy with, showing the effect I was chasing....

The colour one for me, too. The rust/water contrast gives a much more 'open' feel to the photo. Probably something to do with my brain associating the colour of the sea with wide open spaces whereas a different shade of grey doesn't have that association.

The blurred seed heads is an interesting experiment. I think the reason it doesn't work very well is that there isn't a distinct subject to draw the eye away from the blur in the foreground. If a bigger version of the tower in your last (poppy) shot were put in the middle distance of the seed head shot and a bit was cropped off the bottom of the blurred area, then it might work.

Sensitively and delicately put. I might just start using it to explain my situation, too.

Steve

I understand the preference for the colour one, but, but... that mono does so appeal.

The swmbo comment resonated. As Steve said, sensitively and delicately put.

Thanks for your comments guys, appreciated.

Even though I prefer colour, that mono is one of the few that works in mono for me.

Thanks, glad it worked for you