East facing garden yes or no?

[noddyholder]

Just that really I have only ever had west facing so am clueless about teh extent of sun etc Anyone have one?

Yes - mine's quite long so still have evening sun from the middle downwards. Previously had an east facing garden with a large leylandii hedge in the neighbour's garden on the south side - even that was OK, although the sun went by about 4pm.

Yes, I have one. Very narrow (small terraced house) but 100ft long, so my experience may be better than most. We get sun at the end of hours into the evening. Nearer the house is in shade by soon after lunchtime in summer, I think (although I've just realised how unobservant I am about any details!)

I like it as the way our roads are laid out the only choice is east facing or west facing. To me west facing would be a nighmare on a hot afternoon as you would have no shade without sun umbrella/strategic tree planting. I like sunbathing for an hour or so but would always sit in the shade if sitting out for any length of time to eat, drink, read etc. It would also make our conservatory uninhabitable!

My parents have north facing which is very gloomy. But I think east is fine. It (and therefore the kitchen and conservatory at the back of the house) gets glorious morning sun. Sitting room gets lovely afternoon sun, which is the most used room to snuggle up in in winter. Works well for a traditional house layout, to my mind. Really though it depends whether you greatly value afternoon sun over morning sun.

So do you get sun at lunch time? Its a longish garden and open at teh sides

well round about mid-day the sun will be coming from the south, so unless you have trees it will be able to shine on most of the garden and especially the North side, where you can have a sunny bed for your tomatoes and dahlias.

In winter when the sun is lower shadows will be longer from fences, houses and trees, though the trees will not be in leaf so more sun will get through.

The South side, if you have a solid fence or wall, will be shaded pretty well all the time, so put your garden path there, and maybe shrubs that don't need sun.

Thanks so much am going to try and wait to view it when this weather improves so that I can see it sunny!

Noddy, if you have a west facing garden now, you probably will find an east facing one gloomy.

Our garden wraps around, the east part is good in the morning, but fairly useless as we don't spend that much time out in the morning. The south part is best throughout the day. That is where we spend the most time. The west part is sunny till late, and is great in winter.

I personally would not buy a house where the majority of the garden is east facing.

Thank I am going to view it a few times to check. I am renting atm and have a north facing but it is terraced and the back half is bathed in sun all day. Gloomy would not work for me at all

If the back half is bathed in sun all day, I wonder if it is north-west facing?

The house is a tiny cottage not very tall whereas the garden goes up in levels and the back is effectively south facing!

Ah, ok. That is lovely. A south facing garden is delightful indeed

Noddy I have an Eastfacing garden. It is pretty shady in winter, but in summer it is perfectly sunny till about 1pm, and then sun moves towards back of garden. I would say west facing end is still sunny at 7pm, and we have lots of big trees shading us too. We also get the sun down the side alley though, which gives us a bit of a west "extra". An eastfacing garden is lovely if your kitchen backs onto it - not so good if your sitting room is on that side.
Our garden is lovely, but as I say a bit dark and cold in winter...

Really every garden has four walls, so there is always a bit of shade and sun somewhere

we are fairly east facing (ESE maybe) at the back - it's only a little yard, about 18' wide, 20' long from the rear extension (Victorian terrace) & the main part of the yard gets full sun most of the day. At this time of year (when the sun actually shines ) it doesn't go off the bottom of the yard until about 5pm.

In winter it doesn't get much, but then we're not out in it & the plants don't care!

So if yours would be longer than that it should get sun at the end into the early evening.

Yes it has kitchen diner out to garden. I am tempted dp thinks it will be dark but I think we need to check it out.

I suppose what our eastfacer lacks is a suntrap to have drinks on, of an evening, although of course I could go to the other end of the garden where the rubbish pile is

Thanks ponders it is a victorian terrace with a fairly long garden

sounds good to me then, noddy - esp with a kitchen diner opening on to it - that will be lovely on a sunny morning

I think that sounds delightful, truly, breakfast in morning sun...but I suspect you need to visit at three different times of day if you are really seriously concerned.

I once bought a flat which owners cunningly arranged us to visit at 9am. The flat was flooded with sunlight, we were completely entranced. However once we lived there we realised the sun departed by 10am Only for larks, which I have to say my sister and I were not... My kitchen atm gets the morning sun between 5am and 8am...very useful [not] But my garden is sunnier than that, definitely.

With east facing gardens the trick is to have two seating areas. Traditional patio outside the house, for your morning cuppa and Sunday breakfast alfresco; then a second seating area at the bottom of the garden to catch the evening sun for your barbecues and evening drinks.

That said, I have vetoed houses for east facing gardens. But gardens are my raison d'être so it's not something I can compromise on personally.

What Rhubarb said. Our back garden faces east but is entirely open on the north facing side, i.e. unbelievably hot in the summer, but the deck and family room cooler after 11.00 a.m. in summer. The front garden faces west, but still partially open to the north, so also very sunny.

This is Australia, by the way. We have seating and tables in both gardens.

In the UK, with an east-facing very long garden, we did the same. Even English summers are made more lovely by being in the side at times. Our east-facing living room was deliciously cool in the summer.

This thread has made me very nostalgic for England. From our London garden, we could see tall gumtrees which always swayed, even when no wind was apparent. We see the same from our Australian garden, though when in flower, they are deafeningly full of rainbow lorikeets.:)

That should be shade, not side.