Seamus-
For me, that makes a big difference. I'm normally a big fan of black and white, including toned versions, but I think you need the separation offered by the color contrast, in this case, or you need to use color more to your advantage when you convert to B&W by lightening or darkening the green channel. I don't normally mess with other people's images here, but decided to see what a slight Orton effect would do to this one. I hope you don't object to my taking the liberty. I used OnOne PhotoTools, but if you are not familiar with the concept, there are a number of ways to accomplish it, including a number of freely distributed actions to run inside Photoshop. It can occasionally be heavy handed, but in this case I think a light version of this effect tones down some of the stronger contrast and lets the sweetness of the scene play a more dominant role. Specifically, it crushes the blacks and diffuses them slightly, while upping the color saturation just a bit.