Would a north facing garden put you off?

[WildflowerChild]

Found a good house, ticks majority of boxes.

It does however have a north facing garden. I’m not a gardener so won’t be growing anything ... but would be nice to sit out in the summer

Yep. Would put me off. We could have got a four bed detached with a north facing garden for a really good price but went for a three bed semi with a south facing garden as we love sitting in the garden/bbq-ing etc.

I wouldn't be bothered, but then I can think of fewer things more boring than "sunbathing". I'm sure that even in the shade there'll be days warm enough to enjoy the garden.

Yes I wouldn't even look at it. As a kid our garden was already shady, dark and cold - used to go to friends the other side of the street to use their padding pool.

It depends. We have a north facing garden but it's elevated with no immediate neighbour to the East so ours is in direct sun all day.

Definite deal breaker for me. We're in a south east facing garden now so it's not perfect and we don't get any evening sun, but it's lovely for the whole day. Last year we were in a north facing Victorian semi. It was overlooked on every side. There was no sun. Ever.

My north facing garden gets plenty of sun in the summer and quite a bit of evening sun. However, it's a soggy wet nightmare in the winter.

Also, our garden is quite long which means there is lots of sun at the back of it in summer. So depends on shape of garden really.

Yes a north facing garden would and did put me off a property.

But you will get loads of people who HAVE north facing gardens insisting it makes no difference.

However we discounted any houses with north facing gardens when we were house hunting. Ended up buying one with a south facing garden and I love it. The kitchen looks onto the garden and we get all the sun there.

I would never buy a house with a north facing garden.

But you will get loads of people who HAVE north facing gardens insisting it makes no difference

I agree. I hate our house due to it. I’ve just remembered the houses across the road (facing ours) cost a few thousand more due to the garden direction. We tried to buy one but were unsuccessful. Even now when one comes up for sale, I marvel at their gardens where plants actually grow. I’ve lost count of the amount of plants that died in my garden over the years. I gave up even trying and put everything into pots instead but sadly they did not get enough sunlight to grow either.

The garden is never used. I don’t bother unlocking the back doors anymore other than to put down moss killer and grass seeds every year. I could live without a garden but the dark cold kitchen is the reason I despise the house.

I.e. when I say a few thousand, I think it was £15K about 15+ years ago.

Our old house had a south facing garden that was very exposed and I hated it, was far too hot in summer and difficult to make shade, on the really hot days it just wasn’t useable for the children.

I have a north facing garden now and much prefer it. I don’t feel like it’s ever dark or gloomy at all.

Definitely

I'm guessing that the garden would be quite small from being a 2 bed terrace. I once lived in a large Victorian/ Edwardian semi (student house) in that area and the gardens weren't big. A small garden would probably work better with gravel/ paving and flower beds than a mossy, straggly lawn.

My front garden is north facing and gets no direct light Oct-April. Plants do grow, as do moss. Assuming it's the typical L-shape kitchen/ dining layout to the rear, you'd get the light in the front to the lounge.

My lounge is north facing (with conservatory to the south) and kitchen to the south. The lights are on through the winter anyway.

My south facing back garden is generally good, but can be relentless in particularly hot, sunny weather. We don't get the evening sun. There is an L shape to the west, and hopes of that being a cosy evening courtyard type spot were pretty quickly dashed by a strong prevailing wind.

North facing is not an automatic deal breaker. Not good for conservatories! Our last garden was N/W, but raised and most got the sun from midday although the rooms were dull.

Yes

No, I really love mine! It's beautifully shady in the summer from the surrounding trees and thus much more usable for me and mine.

That said, I don't like hot weather, so would regard a south facing garden as a downside if anything: our front garden is south facing and I find it uncomfortably baking on warm days. I wouldn't want the space we use the most to be like that. Plus it's a big north facing garden which I appreciate might change things a bit- there's actually a fair amount of sun and we do grow quite a few things there.

It is soggy during the winter though and we don't really use it from November to mid February, so if you still want to sit out over winter I wouldn't. Although we also don't sit in the south facing front garden then either so for us doesn't make much difference.

It would be a dealbreaker for me, because I love gardening, especially growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers.

If you’re not into gardening as such, but want to sit outside and have space for kids to play, a long north facing garden might work for you. You’d need to plan the space - I’d put a patio area immediately outside the house, so you could step outside in autumn/winter/spring without creating a muddy bog. Then another seating area at the far end from the house, which should get some sun. In the shadiest area, plant ferns, hostas, woodland strawberries for ground cover, and then add colourful plants to the parts that get some sun.

A small north-facing garden is harder to manage, unless you like dank, damp and shady! I lived in a house with one and even the sunniest part only got a few hours a day. Lawn grass wouldn’t grow, so the lawn was a mix of bare patches and weeds. It was always gloomy, as was the kitchen. When we were house-hunting I wanted a garden where plants would actually grow!

Roughly what size is the garden OP?