North facing gardeners....

[jobnockey]

So we've seen a house we love... But. It has a north facing garden...
Would this be a deal breaker for you? Would be interested to hear from others who have north facing gardens and what it is like...

I love gardening and my current ( rented) flat has a small south east facing garden so although it's small,, I can grow a lot... This garden is bigger, but, north.... But it would be Mine (for the first time ever having my very own garden )

Depends how big the garden is. If its small and most or all of it is in shade then not very good. If it is long enough that the shady part is only close to the house and the rest is sunny then i think it would be fine.

Remember that if the back of the house is shady then the front rooms will be sunny?

Its lovely to have some shade in your garden when we have the odd heatwave but nice to be able to sit in the sun at other times.

As very keen gardeners and people who like to spend a lot of time outside the sun was a big factor in our last house purchase.

We discounted a stunning house as it had a wide but short north facing garden and even when we viewed it a 1pm, the sun didnt even touch the patio.

It depends how long the garden is and what is surrounding the garden.

I'm a north facing gardener as I like the sun on my back.

For me it’s not just the garden direction, it’s the light that comes into the rooms. Think about which room you spend most time in and is it on the sunny side of the house. For example I spend most time in the kitchen so would not want a N facing kitchen as I like lots of light.

We have a north facing garden but it's very long and has minimal shade from either side. I've kept an enormous Laurel just to create enough shade for the dog.

We have one patio by the kitchen windows but I am hoping to lay one at the other end of the garden to make the most of the evening light.

So it will depend on length but also the surrounding gardens.

It sort of depends where you are in the country.

It would for me, but I love things like roses and hibiscus that thrive with lots of sun. It very much depends on the kind of things you like to grow. There's a very inspiring article on the Guardian website about what you can do with a north facing garden www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/19/gardens1.
How close is it to other buildings? If its north facing and close to other tall buildings it could be quite shady for a lot of the day. I previously had a north facing front garden but because it was on a fairly wide, open road and I was very strict about putting in plants in that could cope with the shade I was surprised by how much I could grow in it- even some of the more shade resistant roses that are advised for north facing walls went great guns there. How is the garden doing now? Are any of the neighbours gardens thriving? Maybe take a look at the satellite images of the street on Google maps and see how green and lush the back gardens seem to be. If they're all looking very sad and sorry for themselves I'd be concerned, but if a neighbour has managed cultivate a lovely garden then you will be able to too.

It wouldn't put me off. In fact I'd look upon it as an opportunity. If you're a moist part of the country and on acid soil, you've hit the jackpot from the point of view of things you can grow: meconopsis, asiatic primula, cardiocrinum, roscoeas not the mention the best hosta and hellebores (don't need the acid soil for those, of course). Many of the plants in the ranunculaeae do better in a cooler shadier place - delphiniums, thalictrum ,aquilegias, lots of the clematises. Many peonies, especially the species, do better in semi-shade; essentially they're woodlanders. Lots and lots you can do but it means embracing a slightly different attitude to gardening.

Thanks for the replies. It is in Norfolk, and the previous owner has used the garden as more of an allotment space so it must be possible to grow stuff. I dont mind a challenge but also want a nice garden to enjoy. That guardian article Is great thanks for that, lots of tips.

I love my north facing garden but it is big enough for almost half of it to be in the sun. So the house and veranda are quite cool and shady in the summer and if I want sun I just move my chair further into the garden. Best of both worlds.

My front garden is north facing (and small) and I’m always surprised about how much sun it gets, especially in the morning and evening.
So no, it wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me - especially if it’s a decent size and the house is right.

I have a tiny north facing garden and get so jealous of the people opposite as i see the sun flood their garden lol. We rent this house but when we buy our next place the garden needs to be not NF or long!

It would put me off

We have a very long N facing garden with nothing shading from either side. As the house is a lowish cottage the sun shines over it and garden gets some sun all day. Against the house on the North wall I grow climbing roses that suit shade, with shade tolerant plants at their base. Currently there are wall flowers and antirrhinums.

Moved last spring and ours is NW. We definitely aren't gardeners but we inherited a gorgeous, lush garden from the previous owner. More variety of colourful plants than we know how to manage! So it doesn't appear to have hindered the previous owner.

It could well be harder to maintain it in this orientation, guess we shall see how it shapes up next Spring/Summer!

My front garden is north facing. In Scotland!
I have been able to grow a surprisingly large assortment of plants there, including rhododendrons, azaleas, heucheras, winter jasmine, Virginia creeper, patio roses, lavender, Joseph’s coats, scabious, heather, hostas, foxgloves, ferns, ivy, holly, weigelia, artemisia, primroses, peony, aquilegias, tulips, forsythia, cotoneaster, daffodils, muscara, nasturtiums, wallflowers, snapdragons, cinneraria, pieris, snowdrops and bluebells.

Thanks for all this everyone. We're habing2nd thoughts on the house now for different reasons but this is all very useful to know for the house hunting...

My garden is north facing, and the lawns soggy in winter but Ive had no problem growing things so far.
For me I think it helps that the garden is long, so the end isn’t shaded by the house, and there’s no shade coming from the east side or the north for us.
The shade from our neighbours trees on the west side is also helpful in summer, it means the kids can still play out on hot days as by mid afternoon we’re getting some shade

I have a north facing garden that is in shade much of winter and but gets at least 6 hours of sun in summer.

It's not brilliant and when I move I'll be looking for something East or West facing (not South, I had a south facing garden last and it was always too hot to sit out, for me). But I've still had a fair amount of success with this garden and there hasn't been much I couldn't grow. Many things have partial shade tolerant versions, e.g. roses and sweet peas.

Some things have been brilliant. Hellebores, for example, have absolutely thrived. As have the ferns surrounding the pond and providing shelter to toads etc.

And I enjoy always having somewhere in the shade to sit.

In many ways, I think gardening is like poetry: the restrictions ARE the things that create a good garden. If you can grow everything, it's too much choice. It's finding the right balance within your own garden's limitations (size, soil, sun levels etc) that provides the opportunity for beauty.

Besides, the things that really need hot, full sun have gone out the front instead!

I have a north facing garden and while it gets barely any winter sun it's lovely in the spring and summer. I also have a conservatory and the beauty of this is it only ever gets nice and warm in the summer so is still totally usable. The garden gets plenty of sun in the summer and I have many flowers which thrive in it. The only downside is that my kitchen on the back of the house can be pretty dark. The front garden and living room are proper sun traps

It depends. We're NE with a north facing garden, not especially big but all through the summer the garden has some part of it bathed in sun. We are chasing the shade.
The houses round us are at an angle and there is a bungalow too so the sun gets through. It all just depends!!

I moved from a south west facing rear garden (scorching house in the summer) to a north facing garden.
It's our first winter here and the garden is very cold and gets no sun. We were very surprised how much sun we got last summer and all the pots seemed to thrive. We put in a lawn and that's done well, planted lots of lavender late last year and they seem to have taken. The potted roses did really well, the fruit trees performed better than they ever did before we moved here. There's established blackberry bushes that were heaving with fruit. Our little greenhouse was stifling hot so we had to have the door open all summer.
The house is very tall so we expected much more shadow and we will try to grow roses up the front (we've removed a lot of ivy off it already).

The house position bothers me more than the garden does. We're entirely north facing as we're back to back with another house. We therefore get very little light coming in the windows and no heat from the sun at all.

We have a 40odd feet wide north facing garden but with very little shading from either side. Lots of the garden is in sun all day. We are always trying to work out how to create more shade, to be honest, as we use it so much and it can get very hot. South east here.