A Planted Maple Trough

With summertime shade on our minds, we're turning toward trees as we plan new garden plantings. Luckily, our latest arrivals in the nursery include a collection of rare and unusual Japanese maples that flourish in containers, as well as planted in sunny spots around the lawn or garden. To spotlight these brand-new specimens while they're small, we filled a simple, copper trough with a trio of Japanese maples and surrounded them with Anisodontea, Fuchsia, Bacopa, and Astilbe. Speckled with just a few blooms, this foliage-filled trough is our Father's Day favorite as an outdoor centerpiece or unexpected gift for Dad. Japanese maples prefer full, natural sunlight, so keep your container outside if possible. As the trees grow larger, plant them permanently; they'll develop an elegant, sculptural shape in the years to come.