New build with a NE facing garden - bad idea?

[Sunnyhunny123]

Hi everyone! My partner and I are looking at buying a new build off plan which has everything we want/need but the only draw back is it has a NE facing garden. I’m struggling with the idea as we currently have a SW garden which gets full sun until about 4-5pm. But love the house and its location.
We have a 3 year old and due baby #2 in July.
i love the sun but appreciate my other half struggles in full heat and do need to consider the two little ones. Its Plot 85.

Please could you share your experiences of NE facing gardens?

Whilst you won't get the midday sun, there's enough space either side for morning and afternoon sun to give you plenty. It'll be better for the little ones being able to play as well.
From a planting point of view, a lot of plants will do absolutely fine.

How tall is the house? If three storeys, that casts a longer shadow. Our garden is north facing, house is two storeys high. We get loads of sun from spring to autumn, not much in winter.

The length of the garden also makes a difference. Ours is 50ft.

Our garden in North East facing and it's my second favourite aspect after West! Our house is detached and at the end of the road, we do get sun (when it's out) even in the winter - all day - that means it's not all covered in sun all day but at least all of it is, at some point. It will disappear in the summer by about 6 pm.

Most of the garden has sun and it gradually disappears as the day gets later towards the back fence. Another disadvantage is that the patio nearest the house doesn't get much sun and in the winter turns greenish, so have to wash it every year. We have a patio at the back of the garden because of this.

We've had South facing before, that made the house too hot and other issues such as not seeing the TV properly. The houses opposite us, their fronts being North East, have unsightly moss gathering on their roofs that you can see, ours is on the back of the house which no one notices.

So in summary I wouldn't get a South facing aspect again. Ideally I would get West, not sure on NW but having our NE garden has no issues for us and wouldn't put me off another house with this aspect.

I think it’d be perfect while you have small DC and they can play in the shade. I would have thought with that development layout you’d get sun at different times of the day. My current garden is south facing and it is unusable for DC for a lot of the summer as there is no shade and it gets baking. My old garden was NW facing and was so much nicer.

My NE facing garden was ideal. Sun in the morning, shade during the hottest part of the day then the sun popped around just in time for the early evening.

With regard to plants, these hot summers are scorching plants like fury so some shade might make for an easier to manage, greener garden.

My garden is NE facing! It’s 40 foot long so most of it is shaded by the house in winter

It’s cold and damp and miserable in winter and the grass gets mossy, with only a narrow shaft of sun emerging as we head into early spring.

But rest of year I love both the house and garden. When there’s a heatwave it is blissfully cool - and the garden is like an oasis. In high summer the sun does go straight over the top of the house so only about two feet of the garden is in shade of the house.

It is harder to grow the plants that need loads of heat and sun - tomatoes and some flowers struggle. But I’m a keen gardener and most things will thrive (I actually put my tomatoes against the wall at the front of the house, which is obviously facing south west very sunny!).

I would choose a NE facing garden again, simply because the cool relief from our increasingly hot summers.

We have a north facing garden, clay soil, it’s a nightmare. Only usable part of the year, otherwise it’s a quagmire. For that reason I wouldn’t want to buy another house with a north facing garden - if I could help it.

We have a small north east faint garden and it’s lovely - planted with evergreens and pale flowers

we are on great soil which helps / although my friend with south facing on clay is moaning makes me think the soil type matters more than orientation

I love the shade in the heat

also love - the low heating costs of the house and a blank canvas for personal expression

edit to add looks nice and open

Nw here.

Loads of sun in summer in the garden. Doesn't reach house tho, so stays cool in summer heat.
Hardly any sun for months in winter. Awful for spring bulbs, theyre miserable. Deciduous trees and summer / autumn bloomers all good.
I'm ok with this aspect. But sad about early daffodils.

I grew up with a north facing garden, never got any sun apart from a small strip down one side. I didnt realise it was north facing as I was young and it was only when I moved out into a south facing garden and suddenly there was light!

Its an absolute deal braker for me, I love the sun on the garden and the bright natural light it brings to the room (kitchen in this case). If you currently have SW and love it then you might struggle with north facing. Are there any other plots coming up on the same development with South facing gardens?

Same
I wouldn't even look at a N or NE facing garden
All the predictable its too hot in summer if its South facing people have never heard of trees, parasols, blinds?

Couldn't bear a dank miserable garden

Ours ( terraced house in London) has a NE back garden. We don't get much sun between Oct-April, but in high summer when it's 30+ we have a nice shady garden and rear of the house.
I wouldn't like it so much if I was further north with cooler temperatures.

I think you’ll get plenty of sun as there is nothing to your right or left. How long is the garden?

We have a west facing garden and it’s lovely. Front garden faces East and is also lovely aspect with sun rises etc south gardens are completely overrated !!

Here's a photo of my NE facing garden in June.

I am also a keen gardener and I’ve just realised that I grow tomatoes outside on a north east facing wall, where they flourish! But it’s probably location dependant - my tomatoes are on a roof terrace in the south and get a decent amount of sun… I’m not sure they’d be so happy if they were in a cooler/cloudier part of the country.

I don’t know about gardens but our house is north facing at the front and our bedroom, bathroom and lounge are cold rooms. The back is south facing and can be up to 5 degrees warmer in winter. I would struggle to have no sun in the garden.

It’s a two storey house and only has two storey houses around it. My thoughts are that we don’t get much sun anywhere in the UK in Winter 😂

What a beautiful garden!

Unfortunately we don’t know so can only go off the plan and a guesstimate 😅

We have a NE very large, upward sloping garden. House - detached - was bought as a new build from a private developer 31 years ago.

We have never had any issues with regards to the garden being dull. Washing dries beautifully when the weather is good and our patio area is a real suntrap. No.pronlems with spring bulbs growing in the rockery either.

Our front garden is south facing and a pain in the arse at times as it gets so incredibly hot it has caused initial issues for work on the front we have had done in the past. Definitely wouldn't swap.

Unfortunately we don’t know so can only go off the plan and a guesstimate 😅

Have you seen this OP. You can put your house in and see how the sun will move around it during the year.https://www.suncalc.org/#/27.6936,-97.5195,3/2026.01.27/20:45/1/3

I have a north facing garden and hate it .It does get sun at various times of the day but the grass is moss ridden and it never gets very warm. It would be a deal breaker for me. The side of the house that faces the garden never gets sunlight in any of the rooms either.

We have a new build with a small, short, north-east facing garden which I was dreading before we moved in. It’s absolutely fine. There is sun on the garden all day until about 6pm and always some shade which is welcome when it’s very hot. The only negative is that I can’t dry clothes outside from late September through to March as it doesn’t get the sun for long enough.