Dear Sun Spots: The town of Livermore Falls has beautiful planted flowers hanging from the lampposts on Depot and Main streets. I think they might be petunias. The flowers are in the sun all day; even during the heat wave we recently had they were fresh, full and quite frankly, breathtaking.

Someone in Livermore Falls has a green thumb.

Please find out what kind of flowers they actually are and especially the care the flowers receive. I am hoping for specifics, such as how often are they watered? What time of day? Is a fertilizer used? How much? Any other tips you can gather will be greatly appreciated, I hope to improve my hanging plants with this information. – Roland Gibbert, Lewiston.

Answer: Sun Spots checked with the town of Livermore Falls who say they’ve had many calls on these plants and were happy to share the holders of the green thumb!

Roland Chretien, at Chretien & Sons Greenhouse, (207) 897-5909, was more than happy to share his tips. In fact, Roland says the fertilizing is done at 5 a.m., mainly to avoid traffic.

Chretien says the wave petunias, as they’re called, have to be fertilized every other day. While the greenhouse makes up a 100 parts fertilizer per 1 million of water batch to inject into the baskets, you and other green thumbs can use a product such as Miracle-Gro and follow the directions on it. It should be used every other day. Chretien says the baskets are watered on one day, fertilized on the other. The petunias grow 2-to-3-feet in diameter and are perfect for hanging baskets such as those on Depot and Main streets, or, planted in whiskey barrels. They also fill in flowerbeds real well, Chretien says.

You can contact the greenhouse at 394 Park St. or Route 133, going from Livermore to Wayne. Their summer hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Dear Sun Spots: I am looking for a bulb of 300W-115-125V for a Bell and Howell slide projector which uses trays. Maybe someone has an old projector not working or they no longer use, but the bulb is still good. Please call (207) 645-4870. Thank you. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: In addition to responses from readers, you might want to try contacting Camera Service Center, 192 Center St., Auburn, (207) 782-7171 who, while they no longer repair these, may be able to assist you.

Dear Sun Spots: With the high humidity, I have been bothered with tiny ants which I think are fallen sugar ants. They seem to be just around my wastebasket, if there is leftover food, fruit peelings and more. I change trash bags every day. I’ve sprayed and sprayed. They come back out of nowhere. It does not bother the dry cat food. What can I do? – No Name, No Town.

Answer: As a fellow sufferer, Sun Spots also commiserates with you. Sun Spots has found that Borax powder works well and has also heard that using peppermint oil helps deter them. However, Sun Spots has had the most success with the Borax. Just ensure you leave a Borax trail where you see the ants mingling and they should start diminishing in time. This is likely the least toxic of your options. Perhaps other readers out there have some tips they’d be willing to share with you.

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