April in the garden

by Graham Mitchell

April is here, and your motto must be “Be Prepared”. The weather can be so unpredictable: from heavy frosts to heatwaves. So, get ready with fleece and cloches as well as watering cans. Also make sure roses and climbers are well supported to protect for gusty winds.

Warmer weather mixed with April showers also means that slugs and snails will delight in munching through the new succulent growth that is appearing. Take special care in protecting hostas, lettuce and delphiniums.

Everyone’s thoughts now turn to the summer plants and here a decision must be made. Although propagating plants from seeds is satisfying, those with little time or with small gardens may find that ready-grown plants are an easier and sometimes a more economical choice. You can buy plug plants (small and needing to he be potted up immediately) or wait a while and buy larger specimens for planting straight out. If you only want a couple of cucumber plants, for example, then it makes sense to buy them in late May/June rather than buy a packet containing dozens of seeds.

Plants respond to a gradual increase in pot size, so your small seedlings need to be potted on a couple of times before ending up in the hanging basket, container, or flower bed. The reason is that plants dislike a large volume of soil around their roots because they cannot absorb water from all of it and, therefore, it is liable to remain wet. This can result in root rot and the possible death of the plant. Smaller moves allow plants to put out new roots quickly.

As flower plants like petunias and fuchsias get bigger, pick out growing tips. It may seem cruel, but it encourages a bushier, stronger plant. Another handy hint is to inspect your roses and bend vertical growth into horizontal. An upright branch will usually produce a flower at the tip, a horizontal branch will produce flowers along its length.

If you are like me your windowsills will be filling up with new seedlings, next to egg-boxes filled with chitting potatoes. These shoots will give the tubers a head start when they are planted out.

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Can I challenge aunt’s Will as I believed she would leave me more?

Q: My aunt was incapacitated for several years before her death. With no children or partner, my parents looked after her and had power of attorney over her affairs and my father was executor of her Will. I know they sold off valuable possessions of hers and kept the money. When she died last year, my father told me she left me £40,000, which he has just paid me. My aunt however told me I would receive more than that. As I believe my parents syphoned off her assets can I contest the Will?

A: Generally, there are two reasons for contesting a Will. Firstly, if the Will is invalid; for example, it was not created correctly, or the deceased had insufficient mental capacity when it was drawn up, or someone had tried to influence decisions about its content. And secondly, if it does not make ‘reasonable financial provision’ for someone who was financially dependent on the deceased; this would normally be a spouse, civil partner or ex-spouse or ex-civil partner who has not remarried, or a cohabitant, child or someone the deceased raised as a child.

If a grant of probate has not yet been obtained a caveat can be entered to stop it being issued, allowing time for investigations to be made regarding the claim and protecting the estate meanwhile. However, once a grant of probate has been obtained the executor can access and distribute the estate assets, which is the stage that your aunt’s Will would appear to be at. Once the assets have been distributed, even if you could justify bringing a claim, it would be more difficult and costly to contest the Will. Therefore, it is important to put the executor on notice of any claim as soon as possible. In respect of claims for “reasonable financial provision”, you only have 6 months from the date that probate was granted to make the claim, so it always advisable to seek legal advice.

This question has been answered by Sophie Bebbington, a Legal Executive with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter it is still possible, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that we continue to offer our high levels of service to our clients. Where possible, we ask that you communicate with us by phone or email. If you have a new enquiry or for an appointment visit www. ghplegal.com or contact one of our offices: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194