Excellent article and if ever a nail was struck squarely on the head, this is it.
You summed it up perfectly and concisely. BRAVO !
Another "litmus test" that proves everything you stated is to have your garden on a garden tour.
Observing people's reactions to your garden is very revealing to be sure. Some visitors will key in on the exact things you want noticed and appreciated. Some will (unfortunately) be oblivious to them. That's just human nature.
A friend of mine tells a very funny story about a comment a visitor made when he saw her garden one year on tour day.
She had spent an entire year perfecting every single detail of the garden. It was in peak bloom and flawless, much to her (and everyone else's) delight. People were lined up down the block to get through her gate to see it, cameras were clicking like crazy, and the overwhelming majority of people were "oohhing and aawwing" all over the place.
At one point in the day she said you couldn't have squeezed one more body into her garden. One man with a big booming voice was off in one corner and yelled out, "This is absolutely amazing. HOW do you get your GRASS so GREEN ???"
LOL The one thing she completely ignored and this guy zeroed in on it !
There ya go.
