I think this fits the challenge perfectly. The background has a great grainy texture and off-sets the green leaves perfectly. I also think the composition is great. One of my favorites of the challenge. I Will be interested to see the description of how you did this once challenge is scored.
Different and visually interesting. All the basics are good, just one little fragment of "something" that doesn't belong. It doesn't really say anything to me, though.
I really really like this idea and the composition of the shot. A little bit closer in so we could see some more detail on the grain and I think you'd have a perfect 10. Everything else looks stellar to me!! Nice job :-)