Attaching Buttons On A On JPanel In Different Location

I have to make a ABC learning game , for example when "A" button is clicked ,three images will appear on the Panel including Apple, which I have in my array. I am trying to set three buttons on this JPanel so that I can set ImageIcons on them, but , the buttons are not appearing, and when they do, it cannot be aligned at the center. All I want to do is to set three buttons where the black blocks are. I want to put Images on a buttons because later I need to add AcctionListener on them.

here is my code for my JPanel

public class AbcGeniusPanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener{
//Declare the necessary Variables here
private final JButton[] buttons; //create an array for buttons
private BorderLayout layout; //Declare object of BorderLayout

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