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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To consider a north-facing garden

101 replies

wink1970 · 12/04/2021 12:25

I have seen 2 houses, both perfect, but with north-facing gardens. I keep being told they will never be warm, but does anyone have a different viewpoint? Surely they get sun rising to the right and setting to the left?

I think I'm trying to talk myself into it!

OP posts:

Chunkymonkey123 · 12/04/2021 12:29

It really depends on how the houses around it cast shadows. We’ve lived in two north facing gardens. Our current one gets loads of sun but we are at the end of a row of houses.

FastnetLundyRockall · 12/04/2021 12:30

Depends how big the garden is. If its relatively big and you don't have a block of flats at the end then it would be fine

nonevernotever · 12/04/2021 12:32

We have a north facing garden which is a suntrap all day but doesn't get sun in the evening. DIsclaimer - we live in the top half of a converted house and our half of the garden is the further away half. Our neighbours downstairs don't get much sun in their half until late April/early May because they're in the shadow of the building.

Regulation15Notice · 12/04/2021 12:32

agree that if the garden is long you'll not notice, as the end will get plenty of sun.

we're in a tall terrace with a short garden, so we get very little sun November-March. April-October is much better, and sunny morning coffee is lovely. Obviously south-facing is better, but IMO north facing is not disastrous enough for it to put me off buying north facing in the future.

candycane222 · 12/04/2021 12:33

Depends how long the garden is compared to the height of the house - garden will be sunnier at the far end, shadier near the house.

The houses obviously havd a south-facing side too, the front, so those rooms will probably be warmer (unless most of the living space & glazing is at the back, and its mainlygarage/utility/bathrooms at the front, in which case it might feel a bit sunless)

fitzbilly · 12/04/2021 12:34

Depends on how long the garden is and how tall the buildings around it is.

cashoncollection · 12/04/2021 12:36

I had one and it depends on the size of the garden and the position of the other houses. We found in winter when the sun was low it didn’t get much sun but in summer it was absolutely fine.

In fact I currently have a south facing garden and it’s so exposed that it’s basically unusable on sunny days. It just gets too hot and there’s no shade.

If it would get a reasonable about of sun in summer than I’d go for it.

tentative3 · 12/04/2021 12:37

Yes, we used to have a house which had a north facing garden but was not overlooked to the rear, we got enough sun. We are currently (hopefully) buying a house which also has a north facing garden but the house behind is sufficiently far back, and the garden slightly tiered, that it shouldn't matter except perhaps in the very depths of winter. In the first house we had lots of glazing at the rear and that helped.

It's nice to have somewhere cool and shady to retreat to sometimes, and I wouldn't have wanted a south facing bedroom, if that helps.

RedMarauder · 12/04/2021 12:37

Is the garden due North? Or is it more NE or NW facing?

I've had friends with a North facing garden but it was more NW facing and large. It meant it was comfortable to sit out in in the summer rather than being too hot. There were certain plants they couldn't grow due to the direction or their garden.

Whoopsies · 12/04/2021 12:38

Agree with others, depends on the lay out. We are north facing, our house in a semi at the top of a cul de sac so our garden isn't very overlooked by houses and is quite long so we get plenty of sun at the top end, we don't get much at all by the house end, which only means eating the other end of the garden to get in the warmth, but it doesn't really matter!

Westfacing · 12/04/2021 12:39

As others have said it depends on size of garden and surrounding buildings.

I know someone with a north facing squarish garden in London and it seems to get sunshine for much of the day, particularly afternoon and early evening.

A friend with a north-facing balcony gets next to no sun.

Emred · 12/04/2021 12:39

Depends how big the garden in and where the neighbours houses are. We have a north facing garden and we get more sun than our old south west facing one.

callingon · 12/04/2021 12:41

The good thing about the garden being cooler is also that in a heatwave it’s actually quite a relief! A couple of summers ago all my colleagues were panic buying fans while I (literally) chilled out in my nice cool back room.

Planttrees · 12/04/2021 12:44

I love the fact that my house is north facing because it means I don't get too much sun in the back so it stays cooler in the summer. The far end of the garden still gets lots of sun so we can sit out in it if we want to.

headintheproverbial · 12/04/2021 12:46

Totally depends on how long the garden is. We have a north facing garden but it's 100 feet long so past the first 20 feet or so it's very sunny. Think about it, the other end of a north facing garden is south facing!

Only downside is that the area near the house is shady - it can be good for eating out on a hot day but you can't sunbathe on the patio much. We created a sun deck at the other end instead.

cologne4711 · 12/04/2021 12:48

I can never understand the obsession with south-facing gardens. It's not like the weather is nice enough in the UK to use them more than a few days a year anyway.

Plus the other end is, by definition, south-facing.

I have a SW/W facing garden but in our previous house our garden faced north and it did come up with buyers but we sold the house anyway.

Shirazzam · 12/04/2021 12:49

Depends entirely on tall trees and buildings nearby that cast shade. This is true of any orientation though.

My very small garden faces NE and gets sun until about 2pm. I love it because the garden is cool enough to sit outside in the afternoon and the house doesn't get too hot in the summer.

Itsrainingatlast · 12/04/2021 12:49

I live in a 3 storey terrace with a 20ft north facing garden (strictly a patio really, and I kid myself it is NW facing!)
Very little sun at all November to March, but as it is walled on 3 sides it warms up beautifully when the sun is out. At this time of year, I can sit in the sun from about 10am-6pm, but it remains warm for much longer. It’s not overlooked at all at the back which I imagine also makes a difference.

cathybates · 12/04/2021 12:52

We found that the decking at our old house rotted as garden was north facing and never got sun/dried out. Also made the house quite dark. We were renting one with a south facing garden recently and the difference was unbelievable.

DH refuses to buy north facing again but it depends on what you’re personally willing to compromise on as there’s usually a compromise somewhere and that may be it for you if all other boxes ticked

WhatMattersMost · 12/04/2021 12:58

As someone who is renting a property with a small north-facing garden, I would never consider one again. It is soul-destroying trying to grow anything colourful or edible.

WhatMattersMost · 12/04/2021 12:59

And we have to have fake plants in the house because nothing grows otherwise.

Thecazelets · 12/04/2021 12:59

We had a south facing garden which was unbearably hot to sit out in and it meant the entire front of the house was north facing, cold and dark. You spend a lot more time in your sitting room than in the garden in this country, so I wouldn't be too concerned unless it's so short and overlooked that it gets no sun at all.

ineedaholidaynow · 12/04/2021 13:00

I have north facing garden, it's not huge and we do have the issue we are slightly set back from both our immediate neighbours' houses so do have issues with shadows. But parts of the garden do get sun at various times of the day, so we have seating spread around the garden. Also means on really hot days we can benefit from shade. We actually get sun on our patio by the house from midday to early evening in the height of the summer so it is isn't all doom and gloom.

However, there are parts of the garden that don't get much sun especially in the winter.

However, I used to have a south facing garden with a conservatory at the back, which was pretty much unusable in the height of summer, and there was very little shade in the garden.

So there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

soupdragon321 · 12/04/2021 13:02

We lived with NFG for 15 years. Sun at top end. We moved to a SFG just before lockdown last year and it is absolutely bloody fabulous. I would never go back to NFG. Our old neighbours had built an extension during the autumn/winter just before we moved. We didn't notice the effect it would have on our garden until about 3 weeks before we moved when the sun finally came out - the shadow cast by the extension meant we had even less sun in our old garden. I think you would need to check how the sun hits those NFG's before you decide.

tentative3 · 12/04/2021 13:03

@WhatMattersMost

And we have to have fake plants in the house because nothing grows otherwise.

But surely the front side of the house is south facing? Why don't the plants grow in those rooms?

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