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

[chillidoritto]

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?

Some of your gardens sound awesome (regardless of which way they face)! Very jealous!!

I think YABU
My garden is south facing with a rear kitchen, i hate it!
Too hot in summer especially cooking, i have to keep blinds closed fridge working overtime to try and keep things cool.
Garden had no shade which is unbearable (have planted stuff ect now)
Mortar in between bricks was drying up and coming out, had to have it re done.
My daughter has just bought a beautiful home with a north facing garden, its perfect, shady near the kitchen, patio at far end lovely and sunny.

I'd go and see the house if it looks nice. If it's not really overlooked and overshadowed (like we are here in London) it might get plenty of sun from the east and west. Weirdly our small south-facing garden is so overlooked from neighbouring houses and trees because we're in a dense part of London that it is more in shade than the small front yard which is north-facing. Plenty of plants grow in the front yard because it's very open. The bonus of the front of the house being south facing is that it will be drenched with sunlight during the day.

I have a north facing garden.

This also means I have solar panels facing south on the front of the house and a nice beautiful south facing garden onto to street full of flowers.

I spend way more time out front than back.

We have a North facing rear garden. It's lovely and cool during heat waves, especially the patio. Great if you have a big hairy dog!

Totally agree with you OP. Wouldn’t buy a house with a North facing garden either. Not a chance.

For the amount of sun we get in this country they it really would not bother me!

I have a north facing garden and it gets loads of sun. We baked in there last summer in the heatwave, it was glorious. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy a house with north facing garden again.

mine is - i love it
i am not a sun worshiper but i do love a good lie in the sun now and again BUT my trees etc grow well as it still gets the sun?!

IIts big enough to get a sun trap area but also a lovely shaded part with trees

I honestly don’t even know which way ours faces 😂 didn’t give the garden a second thought when we looked for houses.

But then I never really went in the garden until we had kids! Hate just sitting in the sun, would rather go for a walk if I want fresh air.

North facing gardens rock.

I love gardening and have a full and lush garden that faces north. Very little I cannot grow in it and I get to choose to sit in the shaded seating area near the house or the sunny area at the end of the garden.

What I would never have (again) is a south facing garden. I bloody hated the last one. Too hot, too dry, too hard to grow the plants I liked.

I'm lucky enough to have a detached house in a big rectangular plot all around. So all compass points covered, you'd think?

But in fact, the house itself shades the front almost all day. The back is full of trees so we get no sun there, and the far end has other buildings and trees which shade as the sun goes down.

It's OK ish in May and June but after that we're in shade almost everywhere from about 4pm, and totally by 6ish. I'm so jealous of friends who BBQ until 9 at night in summer, and the house opposite is always sunny - but we are in shade! As a keen gardener and sun-worshipper it breaks my heart - but we couldn't tell from a map or a few viewings, I think it's always a gamble.....!

I had a south facing garden. It was so hot it was unusable at certain times. Much prefer the consistency of north facing. It also depends on so many other factors such as shade from your neighbours houses.

I love my north facing garden!

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west so a north facing garden still gets plenty of sun. Ours is north facing and gets loads of sunshine.

Because if nobody wanted a north facing garden half of the houses on my road and all of the roads nearby would lie empty. I love the fact my front windows look out over the sea on the south coast. Yes we lose the sun in the evening in the bit of the garden nearest to the house but it's a long garden so there's still sun all day and no problem drying washing etc.

There was a relevant point on this made on a recent GQT: along the lines of 'do the panel think that with the duel effect of hotter and drier weather, especially in summer, that south facing gardens will no longer be compatible with gardening'.

The general consesus was that growing would still be possible but that gardening in south aspect gardens is likely to have to change quite a lot to more drought/heat tolerant plants. So anyone wanting to grow lusher plants, like roses, may start to need a different aspect to do so.

There was also quite a lot of love for all the aspects - each bringing their advantages and disadvantages.

Some private outdoor space is better than having no garden.

At literally no point when we were house-hunting did I ever even think about what way the garden faced. Apparently ours is east-facing but I didn't actually know that.

I wouldn't mind a north-facing garden at all. I like being outdoors but I'd never sit in direct sun (yes, I'm one of those 'pasty' people and I fully embrace that). I'd imagine that a north facing garden might need a little less watering, which is good if you have a water meter or live somewhere where there are hosepipe bans. And plenty of plants like a bit of shade, so really not a big deal.

A South or South westerly facing garden is an absolute must for me. I spend loads of time in the garden when I'm not at work and I love sunbathing! I wouldn't consider a house with North facing garden.

Call me stupid, but I've never been able to understand this. Surely a North facing garden gets the sun at some time each day? We have areas of shade in our garden and they are my favourite parts. It certainly wouldn't put me off buying a house.

I don't get it either! I asked my DH and apparently our garden is north facing but we get plenty of sun and we have plants that grow despite a lot of benign neglect

Me too!

I was dead set against a North facing garden, until (of course) I fell in love with a house that has one 😂

Patio stays in shade until around dinnertime in the Summer. It's not as bright in the winter, but realistically what garden is?

Pic for anyone who thinks North Facing gardens are shady all the time!

My mum’s garden is north facing. She would have loved a south facing one to have a conservatory

We have a north facing garden, and have a conservatory. It gets a little sun, but not much, which is ideal, as we can use it all year round without needing blinds. It's usually not too hot to use in the summer, and, although it's quite cold in the winter, it's quite quick and easy to heat up, just by opening the doors from the house, or using a fan heater for a little while. We often use it on Christmas Day.

Whereas friends of ours whose conservatory is south facing can't use it for a great deal of the year, because it's like a sauna in there.