If you browse decorating magazines, you’ve probably spotted repurposed cattle watering tubs. More and more, they are used for larger plantings and home and business sites. Some decorators leave the tubs with their natural metal color, while others enjoy applying printing to them to match a corporate or college spots color scheme.

At Perry Wellness Center, such reclaimed objects are found around the campus, with many painted and placed there by artist and designer Jeff Williams. Recently, peer client Kelvin Mullins planted some young collard plants in fresh, bagged soil. The finishing touch: they were placed in vibrant blue painted tubs.

Kelvin says, “I am proud of my planting in these tubs. They are not at the entrance to Rudy’s Happy Patch Market, but we can move them close to direct sun in later weeks. This was a fun project!”

In the photo above, Kelvin Mullins displays to galvanized tubs he has filled at the east side entry to Rudy’s Happy Patch Market.