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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why anyone would choose to buy a house with a north facing garden?

373 replies

chillidoritto · 26/09/2023 18:50

Currently trying to find a new house and every time I think we’ve found one that ticks all the boxes, a quick look on street view shows it has a north facing garden!!

A woman at playgroup was going on about how lucky she was that she had a shady north facing garden! It’s dark, damp and nothing seems to grow there except moss! She does have very pasty kids mind.

Am I missing something? Are they so bad?

OP posts:
TuesdayWonder · 27/09/2023 19:02

Can't say I've ever given it much thought, though I'm not really outdoorsy!

CoffeeMama1 · 27/09/2023 19:10

Old house had a south facing garden and as there was absolutely no shade or coverage anywhere it was punishing, it was absolutely awful. Couldn't do anything out there in the daytime, summer was a no go, it was literally the worst thing about the house. Now have a north east facing garden and it's gorgeous, can actually sit out there of an afternoon or evening and enjoy it!

celticprincess · 27/09/2023 19:29

I bought a house without a garden. We have communal grass at the front facing north but can’t do anything with it and can’t really sit out in it. The back is a yard/driveway. Old terrace so the sun we do get is short lived due to the closeness of the terraces.

Charliebrow · 27/09/2023 19:34

We had a north facing back garden in the past and the living room at the front of the house was lovely and sunny. Now we have a south facing back garden and the living room at the front is so dull. We spend more time in the living room than the garden so maybe factor that in

Calmdown14 · 27/09/2023 19:49

I have a north east facing garden. It gets sun all year round, backs onto beautiful woodland and hills.

It's long and the house is low. Patio nearest the house doesn't get much sun in winter but that's about 15ft out of 200ft so you'd be pretty idiotic to not view it on that basis.

Plus the front is south facing so I have lovely light rooms overlooking the sea.

I'm glad people would dismiss it so easily though. Maybe that's why I got it.

Packetofcrispsplease · 27/09/2023 19:55

Ours faces south and believe you me there are some times I wish it didn’t .
have to wear a hat just to pop out and hang up the washing if it’s a sunny day .
no shade at all

HarrietStyles · 27/09/2023 19:55

We had a south facing garden in our last house with lots of double glazing facing the sun - it was a sauna all summer, I mean utterly unbearable, even with all windows open. Our current house has a north facing garden and I’m much happier about it - the garden is big so we always have sun in the garden, just not blazing in through all the windows. As long as you have a decent sized garden then it’s fine. We used to have a north facing tiny yard on our London house and that sucked though, as it was so small we hardly got sun in it all day.

MoonShinesBright · 27/09/2023 19:57

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Cherrywino · 27/09/2023 19:59

It's not something I even thought about when buying a house but I prefer it, I have no interest in gardening and am happy with the few hardy trees that are there. I can put the bins in the corner and they never get hot and gross in the sun.
But also we are a pale and red headed family so I like that the garden is in shade for most of the day, I can sit out there when its warm without having to wear a balaclava or have the sun in my eyes and my kids can play on the swing in relative sun safety. If its warm- its still warm in gentle shade and if its cold I wouldn't be sitting out anyway even if it was sunny.

felisha54 · 27/09/2023 20:01

I have a north facing garden and love it. It is about 50m long and nothing overlooking it to the east and west. We get tons of sun. In fact it's a sun trap. We do our entertaining up the back of the garden, which is great because not near neighbours! I love that the front is south facing as we have a beautiful door with lots of glass as it's lovely to watch how the sun moves through it. I had a south facing garden before and as I spend most of my daylight hours in the kitchen diner, it was baking in summer. Now my kitchen is nice and cool.

Obstructions to the east and west and size of garden is more important than whether it faces north or south.

MrsCooper84 · 27/09/2023 20:01

The sun gives me a rash and a headache.
I hate the summer and I hate heat.
People like me love a North facing garden.
Me, my husband and my pasty child.

arintingly · 27/09/2023 20:02

I don't even know which way my garden faces.

I don't give a shit about gardening

sgtmajormum · 27/09/2023 20:06

North facing garden here.
I'd say it depends how long the garden is. If it's only a small garden then in the winter months the sun will not rise much above the roofline of the house so you will get little sun.
However if it is longer than the house shadow then the end of the garden will get sun a lot.
The key is to create a focal point at the end of the garden and make the journey there interesting.
In the summer months my garden is lovely. The sun moves around it all day, with the centre in full sun. In the heat of midday the patio near the house is blissful in the shade.

There's a lot to like in a North facing garden.

User68 · 27/09/2023 20:17

We have a north facing garden. A conservatory off our kitchen which is boiling in summer and pleasant in winter as it’s heated. When we 1st moved here I hated that the grass near the house was always damp and muddy. Eventually we created a patio area to get round this and also a patio further down with seating. That gets the sun all day in summer. If I was buying again it wouldn’t particularly bother me if I could design the garden around it. We always have to have lights on in our kitchen though as it’s dark whereas lounge in the front of the house is always bright.

Andnowtowhatcomesnext · 27/09/2023 20:19

Managed to create a beautiful north facing courtyard garden. Not all of the garden will be in shade and in the increasingly common heatwaves you might be glad of some shade.

Nannyfannybanny · 27/09/2023 20:25

We didn't even notice,looked at it in October. Back faced north but it's 90m long,so always quite a lot of sun. Detached bungalow,so nothing blocking the sun, which rises on the right,goes round eventually before setting in the west at the bottom where it started on the morning. Our north facing conservatory can reach over 40c because the sun goes over the roof of the bungalow.

Hankunamatata · 27/09/2023 20:27

I couldn't tell you what way my garden faces

MysteryBelle · 27/09/2023 20:29

She does have very pasty kids mind.

😂😂😂

I agree that a dark damp garden is not that appealing.

hoonoo · 27/09/2023 20:35

My south facing garden is a pain in the ass. In the warm weather its too hot and everything turns to dust. The decking is warped and too hot to walk on. A canopy needs to be used and can't use a bbq or you'll set the garden on fire. This is Hertfordshire, not the equator! Be careful what you wish for!
We are a blond and ginger family.... We barely use it mid summer

GertrudeGarbo · 27/09/2023 20:38

It depends how big the garden is! Ours is very long (30 metres) so the sunny parts are middle to back of the garden so that's where we built the terrace and have the furniture. The back of the house is shady so in summer when everyone is sweltering in their glass box extensions, we are cool. Our garden is very lush and green all year round. Neighbours across the road in south facing garden have to water like mad to stop everything drying out and dying in the summer.

StaunchMomma · 27/09/2023 20:42

We've lived in our house for 8 years and I can honestly say I've never sat out in the garden even once.

I put washing in and out and do a bit of gardening, apart from that I couldn't care less about it.

I don't want a sunny, hot house either.

YABU to expect everyone to see things the way you do.

NonMiDispiace · 27/09/2023 20:45

My north facing garden is perfect; I have areas in sunlight as well as shade.
I don’t understand this prejudice OP, unless it’s very enclosed and overlooked then a north facing garden is a bonus to me.

Poochypaws · 27/09/2023 20:45

I've had a north garden before and now I have a west/south garden.

The north garden didn't bother me really and the advantage was the front of the house where the livingroom was got the sun.

We did have a conservatory and looking back it probably was a bit of a waste of time in a north facing garden.

We got sun at the top so that's where we put our washing line.

However,

Now I have a west facing garden which also gets the south aspect as I am on the end of the street.

Washing dries really quickly.

I've grown tomatoes/lettuce/blueberries/raspberries in the conservatory and garden this year because it gets lots of sun.

My conservatory is a lovely place to be and is used without heating 10 months of year.

My livingroom is east facing and sunny in morning but shade in afternoon.

So for me there are advantages to both.

What I wouldn't buy is a house with a north garden if the livingroom was also at the back and got no sun either.

WandaWonder · 27/09/2023 20:49

Welll if no one bought one where would people live? They would habecto knock them all down and rebuild every one.

Not everyone cares which way

Gypsum5 · 27/09/2023 20:50

Comtesse · 26/09/2023 18:52

Pasty kids? What are you on about??
Most people buy a house because they like the house, the orientation of the garden is relatively minor.

Once you go south you never go back.

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