By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Essence of the Tree, specialists in Japanese maples, were vendors at the Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California again this year.  They always bring in gorgeous plants and seem to put them in just the right containers, making them even more irresistible.

This year some  of their new containers almost stole the show.  The redwood modular boxes, designed to hold small trees, are so beautifully crafted they almost looked more like furniture than containers.  The boxes are made of clear heart redwood rescued from old buildings in San Francisco dating back to the 1880s.  The mortise and tenon construction that makes them look so refined also has a practical purpose.  Since no nails or screws are used in their assembly, the boxes come apart easily should you need to root prune a tree, change out soil, or pick up and move.  Very clever.  Very elegant.