BoxLayout : unslightly gaps betw vertical components?

Question

Hi, all.
I've this BoxLayout with PAGE_AXIS alignment, it works, but there is this big gap between the components vertically. The components are self-defined and consists a pair of JLabel and JTextArea.
How do I pack the components tighter vertically?
TIA :-)
public class LayoutTest extends JApplet implements AdjustmentListener
{ LabeledTextField lblName, lblAddr1, lblAddr2, lblCity;
   public void init()
  { setBackground(Color.lightGray);
    Container contentPane = getContentPane();
    // ...java     
    JPanel px = new JPanel();
    JPanel p9 = new JPanel();
    p9.setLayout(new BoxLayout(p9, BoxLayout.PAGE_AXIS));
    p9.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.RED));
      lblName = new LabeledTextField("Name", "Inside a BoxLayout");
      lblAddr1 = new LabeledTextField("Address", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
      lblAddr2 = new LabeledTextField("Address", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
      lblCity = new LabeledTextField("City", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
    p9.add(lblName);
    p9.add(lblAddr1);
    p9.add(lblAddr2);
    p9.add(lblCity);
    px.add(p9);  
    contentPane.add(px);And here is the LabeledTextField defining a pair of JLabel and JTextArea:
public class LabeledTextField extends JPanel
{ private JLabel lbl;
  private JTextField txtFld;
  public LabeledTextField(String lblString,
                          Font lblFont,
                          int txtFieldSize,
                          Font txtFont)
  { setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
    lbl = new JLabel(lblString, JLabel.RIGHT);
    if (lblFont != null) {lbl.setFont(lblFont);}
    add(lbl);
    txtFld = new JTextField(txtFieldSize);
    if (txtFont != null) {txtFld.setFont(txtFont);}
    add(txtFld);
  public LabeledTextField(String lblString, String txtFieldString)
  { this(lblString, null, txtFieldString, txtFieldString.length(), null);
  public LabeledTextField(String lblString, int txtFieldSize)
  { this(lblString, null, txtFieldSize, null);
  public LabeledTextField(String lblString,
                          Font lblFont,
                          String txtFieldString,
                          int txtFieldSize,
                          Font txtFont)
  { this(lblString, lblFont, txtFieldSize, txtFont);
    txtFld.setText(txtFieldString);
  public JLabel getLabel() {return(lbl);}
  public JTextField getTextField() {return(txtFld);}
}

Answer 1

This might explain it. I put a border around the JLabel + JTextArea pair defined by the custom helper class LabeledTextField, and it seems LabeledTextField forces a rigid area around it.
Is this because LabeledTextField extends JPanel ???
If so how do I get rid of the rigid area enforced by JPanel ???
    JPanel p9 = new JPanel();
    p9.setLayout(new BoxLayout(p9, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
    //p9.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.RED));
      lblName = new LabeledTextField("Name", "Inside a BoxLayout");
        lblName.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.RED));
      lblAddr1 = new LabeledTextField("Address", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
        lblAddr1.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.GREEN));
      lblAddr2 = new LabeledTextField("Address", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
        lblAddr2.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLUE));
      lblCity = new LabeledTextField("City", "PAGE_AXIS orientation");
    p9.add(lblName);
      p9.add(Box.createVerticalStrut(1));
    p9.add(lblAddr1);
      p9.add(Box.createVerticalStrut(1));
    p9.add(lblAddr2);
      p9.add(Box.createVerticalStrut(1));
    p9.add(lblCity);
      p9.add(Box.createVerticalGlue());
    px.add(p9);