AIBU to hate our tiny north-east facing paved ‘garden’?

[Dandelionplease]

AIBU to hate our tiny north-east facing paved ‘garden’?

It’s seriously depressing. It’s boiling hot in the middle of the day in the height of summer. Then starts disappears as the sun cools at around 4pm. Then all through winter no sun at all.

I am desperate to move homes but we are a bit stuck at the moment. My DS is 7 and it’s upsetting when all the other kids are enjoying out their back and ours is in the dark☹️

Anyone else In the same boat?

What about playing out at the front?
My mums is east facing and they have a bench out in the sunny front garden, so they can enjoy nice weather.

Front straight on to pavement

I completely understand ours is dark and in the shade, and I always said I would never buy a north facing garden but there isn’t much around that is south facing in my budget

Can you look into shade gardening in pots or raised beds/planters? There are some really excellent plants for shade. You can create quite a lush jungley look. Come over to Gardening if you want some tips - people are very helpful!

How small a space are we talking?

I don't usually suggest artificial grass but could you lay some in the middle of the plants for your son to play on? Is the garden big enough for play? It would be easy to maintain and brighten up the space.

Do you have any pics?

Yes budget is a problem. and then actually finding somewhere.

According to the compass on my phone my garden is south east facing. But I only have sun in it til about 3pm. It's so frustrating!! I understand your pain

Gareth- I can get a pic and post it asap. Maybe I should post on the gardening thread? It’s really small, about 21-22 x 13 foot.

Freddie and hahaha

Any local parks you could enjoy the sun in instead ? How about ball games out on playing fields ? Do you have bikes to go out and about on rather than sitting in the shade at home ? You will appreciate the shadey garden after being out and about in the sun

It’s more of a courtyard really and you have to step up to it.

Shayne- yes, plenty of places within a 10-15 minute drive and OH and DS have bikes. Will have to try and do more of that.

Artificial grass (honestly, sometimes it's the best option!), colourful pots, a bit of lighting, some citronella candles and a small table and chairs (loads on fb marketplace).

Yes that would be useful! It's handy to see what materials/boundaries/limitations you have

You could start a thread in gardening too. AIBU gets a lot more traffic so you'll probably get some helpful ideas on this thread too if you want to keep two going.

I tried googling combinations of small garden/yarden/makeover/shade but the results aren't very helpful

I follow various Facebook interiors and gardens groups and people are always coming up with interesting solutions for these kind of problems!

Apart from jungle-y shade planting and artificial grass I would also suggest colour in the form of a parasol/kitsch solar lights, bright furniture (that string-style stuff is very on trend at the moment) and garden colours paint if you have a shed/playhouse/fence that could benefit (Wilko do a good range - cheaper than Cuprinol). Check with a LL first if you're renting. Waterproof garden cushions and rugs are also a good way to add colour.

A lot of this stuff should be in the sale before long. Dunelm/Asda/Wilko/Matalan etc have some good picks. B&M Bargains has a crazy amount of garden stuff. Some of it's a bit naff but there's a lot of choice

You can get some really nice artificial grass now it doesn't have to look plastic or bright green!

When i was a kid we used to make tee-pees out of old sheets and bamboo sticks. Id paint them and everything!! Would provide some shade cheaply.

This is something a lot of people don't consider when moving house but It is very important.

Only trouble is that artificial grass if it's impermeable can cause problems with rain/local fauna etc. OP we need a photo so us gardeners can advise on planting. But if the sun goes off your place at 3pm there's nothing but walking/cycling to the park for you and your family to get some rays. Then come back to a nice cool garden with ferns and nicotiana ... lots of plants which enjoy the shade .. and lots of people selling them for pence depending where you are.

You can definitely cheer it up with plants/fairy lights/cheerful parasol etc.
Do post on the Gardening section if you are after more specific advice.
Loads of inspiring photos on Pinterest.
Do you have a table and chairs so you can eat outside?

We also have a north facing backgarden. In the summer it's a sun trap though surprisingly. In winter only the very end of the garden gets sun so we have our sand table there to catch any sun and the bike shed and bins are close to the house to make use of the shade. The left hand side we put down artificial grass which has been great! Soon we will be getting solar lights for the garden and maybe a potted tree that likes shade.

We also regularly wash the tiles and just painted the fence and shed.

My garden is south-facing but due to high walls, neighbouring trees and the position of adjacent houses we don't get as much sun as you'd expect.

Yep me, mines is L shaped we have put artificial grass down since this photo & have a bbq & small (1 person) trampoline, actually enjoying some shade tbh as it's just too hot for the kids

I totally sympathise, I used to have a garden like that.

When we moved I took a compass house hunting and refused to even look round some lovely houses because the garden faced the wrong way. That garden really hacked me off!

On the plus side it will be shady and cool in the coming heatwave!

It's a tiny courtyard also, post a photo so we can see yours x

Here's grass we got from home bargains & layed on the concrete

Thanks everyone for your advice, all taken on board. It’s really appreciated.

I’ll get a photo and post in the morning