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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:
cptartapp · 26/09/2023 19:15

Our back garden is North facing. We have open fields to four sides so not overlooked and no neighbouring buildings causing shadows. It's long enough and wide enough that large parts of the garden have sun at all hours of the day.

McIntire · 26/09/2023 19:15

Because not everyone like the sun.

NW1738 · 26/09/2023 19:15

Whenever I’m trying to sell a house with a north facing garden I just hit up my filafax for the motivated vampire buyers section.

Parlourgames · 26/09/2023 19:16

My dad talked like this when we were buying our house in London. We were lucky to get one in the location we wanted for a price we could just about afford. Orientation of the garden really was a detail we couldn’t worry about.

Snowonthebeachx · 26/09/2023 19:16

My garden is south facing and although I love it it is too hot in summer. My veg in pots was very mixed. The beds at the front (north facing) did really well on next to no matinence!

zurala · 26/09/2023 19:17

Mines NW facing but very long (70ft) and not really any houses at the back, just trees. It's really sunny and not at all damp.

QueenofFox · 26/09/2023 19:17

We had a south facing garden and it was so hot in the summer, too much really as the fences made it very sheltered. We have a north facing garden now and as pp have said, at some point it all gets some sun but not too much that it feels super intense. With the climate crisis bringing more longer hotter summers, I think north facing will appeal more. The house is gorgeous though that’s why we bought it. We’re in the south

Shadowonasun · 26/09/2023 19:18

I liked my house, the area and the price was within my budget. I hate gardens and gardening, I'd be perfectly happy not to have any at all, but don't want to live in a flat. I'm never in the garden, it's as if it doesn't exist at all; I prefer to either be in, or out-out, so I don't give a shiny shit which side it's facing.

'Pasty skin'? You mean pale white natural skin one's born with? I'm perfectly happy with mine and not planing to change it, ta. You can enjoy your skin cancer or orange fake tan.

bopbey · 26/09/2023 19:18

Lots of people don't have a choice, sometimes roads don't have a lot of houses for sale. It also depends on what you have around you. I personally prefer SW to South.

fuckssaaaaake · 26/09/2023 19:18

Bored are we?

Original poster
chillidoritto · 26/09/2023 19:19

Thanks for the many helpful responses! It’s good to hear that if the garden is the right shape that you can have the best of both worlds! Maybe I need to reconsider!

Not sure when being pasty became an offence? She likes them to play in the shade or else they will burn

OP posts:
IvorTheEngineDriver · 26/09/2023 19:19

We have one. We liked the house and the area and bought it. The aspect of the garden never crossed our minds for a moment (but then neither DW nor I are gardeners).

AlexaCanYouHearMe · 26/09/2023 19:19

They're very popular in Australia and New Zealand.

TolkiensFallow · 26/09/2023 19:19

Wouldn’t bother me. I’ve had 2 houses with south facing garden and there’s no escape from the heat and sun when it’s hot. North facing you can put the patio at the end of the garden and enjoy the sun.

I like to be outdoors but you live in the house not the garden and it’s realistically only a few days a year it’s really worth spending all day in the garden.

cakecoffeecakecoffee · 26/09/2023 19:20

Mine is north facing - it gets a bit of sun at the right time. But I’m not a sun person at all and would always prefer shade, though I like being outside and having some air, so it works well for me.

oh and we bought it because we love the house 😊

ConnieTucker · 26/09/2023 19:20

My old house had a north facing back garden. But it was long with no buildings being it so we had the sun in the garden anyway. The front garden was south facing. And that made my living room light, rather than my kitchen at the back.

Tarantella6 · 26/09/2023 19:21

I've got no idea which direction our garden faces but there are a lot of trees around here and it is pretty shady. We aren't big gardeners, and in the hot weather it's lovely to go outside without worrying about getting burned.

bopbey · 26/09/2023 19:21

I don't like north facing gardens because it generally means the rooms in the back of the house are dark.

Hummingbird233 · 26/09/2023 19:21

Ours is north facing. We bought our house because we love the size, location, setting and price! It was a no brainer and we didn't want to miss out on it!

We're not garden people though. If you are, then it sounds like you'll need to sacrifice something else or up your budget.

Libertass · 26/09/2023 19:22

Our house has a small north-facing garden. It’s not ideal, obviously, but we are not really gardeners, so when we were viewing houses, a south facing one was on our ‘nice to have’ list rather than our ‘must have’ list.
Everything else about our current house was just what we wanted : Right village, right size, detached, character property, big dining kitchen etc etc, and the reality is that a big south facing garden would have put it well out of our budget.

WeWereInParis · 26/09/2023 19:22

Ours is north facing. We have a nice shaded patio by the house which was lovely in the really hot weather we had these last two summers as it stayed cooler. It's not a big garden, and it's facing bang on north, but the bottom half gets plenty of sun throughout the day. We have flower beds at the end which grow just fine. It's definitely not all damp and moss.

midgemadgemodge · 26/09/2023 19:22

There is no need for a north facing garden to be mossy and boring - the Beth chat to Graden near Colchester proves that

Many people prefer shade than baking sun and would ask why would anyone chose a south facing garden

Which is another way of saying wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same

DisforDarkChocolate · 26/09/2023 19:23

If you like to garden you can make one anywhere. Garden direction isn't even on my list of wants/needs.

AtmosAtmos · 26/09/2023 19:24

Torganer · 26/09/2023 19:02

It’s true. Originally we were a blonde haired, blue eyed family from Iceland. Having now purchased a house with a south facing garden, we now have glossy dark hair and Mediterranean olive skin. Highly recommend.

😂
Maybe they are moving from a flat with no outside space and just enjoy what there is. Or they could be experienced gardeners that want a challenge Ideas from Homes and Gardens

North-facing garden ideas – 25 ways to make the best of a shady spot

All the north-facing garden ideas and inspiration you need to plan and create a natural, restful space

https://www.homesandgardens.com/ideas/north-facing-garden-ideas

Saschka · 26/09/2023 19:25

I don’t think her children’s skin tone is related to the direction her garden faces! We don’t even have a garden, and my child has a tan.

If I liked the house, I wouldn’t care what direction the garden faced, as long as the entire garden wasn’t in full shade the whole day.