North Facing garden?

[NoseyNooNoo]

Is a north facing garden so bad? I wanted a south(ish) garden but we've seen a house we like that has a north facing garden. It's quite a big garden so the house does not block all of the garden from sunlight but the patio area would presumably never get any sun.

Any opinions?

[pagwatch]

depends on your family really. Our house is big and blocks a lot of light and parts of patio are always in shade - but actually with 3 children it is nice to be able to set up some things for them to pay outside without having to worry about them getting too hot or sunburnt. And we have two garden sets set up , one in sunlight and one in the shade which is lovely - we can eat out spring summer but hide from the sun and still eat outside if it is blazing

But a previous house was positioned so garden never got anything but a strip of sun at the end of the lawn abd it was flipping miserable and depressing. Really really misearble.

I would want to be sure that garden got some light TBH

[Jbck]

Mine is a bit dreary but it is nice with little ones to have their toys in the shade.

I think it depends on the size and where your house & others are situated too.

I miss my big south facing garden

[CertainAge]

Our back garden is north facing and I like it.

The patio is in shade for the afternoon but gets morning and evening sun. The rest of the garden gets plenty sun.

Shade is good!

[ItNeverRainsBut]

I was just coming to post a similar question! Just viewed a house today which I liked but worry about the north-facing back garden. How can you tell how much sun it gets though, especially at this time of year, without camping out there for a week? The current owners aren't that likely to admit to it if it's generally dreary.

[jalopy]

Will you mind your kitchen or back reception room not having any direct sunlight?

[Fizzylemonade]

I have to close my blinds on my lounge every day as the sun beams straight into my eyes if I am sat on the sofa. My boys can't see the TV as it is so bright.

I'm looking forward to moving to north facing lounge.

[NoseyNooNoo]

Thanks for your thoughts ladies. It's been very helpful.

[dreamingofsun]

given the choice, i'd go for north facing back garden - which we have now. our old house was south and sitting on the patio for dinner could be unbearable. our only problem now is we can't grow veg.

[Elibean]

We have just bought a house with N/NW facing garden and I worried about it too. I think it'll be fine though, it gets sun most of the day in summer (spoke to neighbours), is big so has sun in bottom of it even now, and I don't really want direct sunlight into our dining area - had it in my last house, and we spent the summer drawing blinds and curtains to keep the sun out of our and the kids' eyes.

Look at whats growing in the garden, it will give you a clue - and how tall the house is (if the shadow is long, the patio may not get direct sun; if its its not too bad, it will when the sun is overhead in summer).

[Mongolia]

My patio area doesn't see the sun but for about a month during the summer. It is cold and it is difficult to keep that green algae at bay.

We never use it, it is cold all year around. Having said that my garden is the size of a handkerchief, if yours is bigger you can ignore the shadowed area.

[Elibean]

Mongolia, any tips on dealing with algae on patios? We have a wooden deck, but will need to replace it - am wondering what the best material would be with minimal direct sunlight (at least in one corner).

[LIZS]

We get sun on our patio , admittedly often only in the summer months for a lengthy period. Neighbouring gardens are also long so very little shadow cast. We plan to have an additional seating area part way down

[susie100]

It really depends on how long the garden is and whether anyblocks the southerly aspect (trees, other houses) etc

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

good sides and bad sides to it - in Summer the lounge and conservatory are nice and cool, bliss when it's boiling hot outside. We miss out in Spring and Autumn though, as the lounge just doesn't get enough sun.

[herbgarden]

I was wary when we bought our previous house about the north facing but it was a semi with one of those long thin gardens. It was great. We had a conservatory on the back and in summer it was a lovely cool place to sit when it all got a bit much. We had plenty of sun in most of the garden through summer with shady parts nearer the house on the patio to retreat to. So, if it's a small garden with a tall house, you might find the sunlight is more scarce than a bigger garden with not so tall building !.

Oh and we did try growing some veggies but they weren't that successful......they really do need lots of lovely sun.

[Elibean]

Really? Even in the sunny end bits? One of the reasons we wanted to move and have a bigger garden was so that dh could have his longed for veggie patch.....he's thinking a corner of the West facing wall at the bottom of the garden might do, it still gets a few hours of sun even in mid December.

Please tell me he's not utterly deluded

[Mongolia]

Well, it all depends on how much sun that spot gets. If the rest of the garden is normally overshadowed you may also consider how suitable is for children play (it may become impossibly muddy).

We had to contact a garden designer to suggest plants that could grow in the shadow, followed her advice but still have to move things around as otherwise they will die in the winter.

Have not found yet a way to control the algae apart of powerwashing it in the summer, but by november is back and you can literally skate on it. There are some products for removal but I have not had much success or the will to go through the work of applying them regularly when the area is so cold we couldn't use it anyway.

If I had more money, I would put a conservatory in that area. At the moment is just a waste of space.

The only positive point to such a shadowed garden is that tulips grow almost a meter high trying to get some light before they open.

[MrsCurly]

We have a north facing garden and have grown plenty of veg.

[Elibean]

Thank you Mrs Curly

We are building a conservatory type extension at the back of the house, to maximize light (without worrying about overheating, one bonus!) and the garden will be at least 75ft long even then - so hopefully veggies at the bottom end will be fine.

No worries about mud, I've two wussy girls who hate playing out in cold or wet weather

[Pannacotta]

You'll be fine to grow veg, as long as you put the veg patch at the end of the garden (as you say) as this will be South facing.

[GrendelsMum]

I shall return the favour from another thread by agreeing with Pannacotta

Seriously, I actually grow veg at the front of my house, which is north facing. (I'm not going to squander a south facing garden on veg when I can grow flowers). It's fine in summer. Not great in winter, but eventually I'll have a greenhouse to grow winter salad in, and everthing else can just put up with it.

[Trifle]

Our house has a north facing garden and I find it totally depressing to the point that I want to move. The house is always dark, bloody freezing as it doesnt get any sun at all at the back and as for sitting on the patio with a morning coffee, forget it. We dont get any sun on the patio until at least 1pm then by 7 it's gone again. I would never buy a house again with a north facing garden.

[Elibean]

Thanks for the veg encouragement



I'm v impressed at the idea of growing veg in front garden. Perhaps I could sow a few carrots between the roses (see, this is a SW London suburban front garden ).

Sorry to hijack thread, OP

Trifle, sounds depressing..I would never have bought our house if it was dark. Given that light pours in from the front, and is by no means dark at the back, I'm not worried about that part. Its more algae on the patio, in the corner thats NE...the other side is NW and will get light, plus we have southern sunshine coming in from the side return (semi detached) in front of the kitchen, so that bit will have sunshine pretty much all year.

Its v odd though, because a friend of mine has a N facing garden with tons of light, great flowers on both sides of the lawn, sunshine nearly all day on patio in summer...maybe because its not a tall house??

[GrendelsMum]

Yes, I think that the height and width of the house and the fences / walls is what makes the difference between having a North-facing garden you can grow things in and one you can't. We have different veg for different parts of the garden - the only ones that really were unhappy in shade were strawberries.

[Arsed]

I've got a house with a North facing garden and to be honest with you i'd never buy another one. Nothing ever flowers, it feels damp and chilly even in high summer, the paddling pool has to go in the one spot of grass which actually gets some sun and then that only lasts an hour, our lounge is always dingy. I honestly find it througherly depressing.