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Original poster

Would you consider a north-facing garden?

47 replies

Gravenwithdiamonds · 05/09/2012 17:34

We're looking at a couple of houses this weekend and I've worked out from themap that both the gardens are north-facing (I think), they may be at a slight angle. Does this mean the back of the house will always be dark in the afternoon? Will the garden always lose the light early? Or can it depend on stuff like elevation? Both houses are on a slight hill.

Am I fretting over nothing?

OP posts:
guineapiglet · 05/09/2012 18:09

Hi, we have just sold a house with a North facing garden, it was built on three storeys and it did mean there was no sun in the garden from end Oct to Feb/March - in the spring and summer it was a wonderful garden, so yes it really does depend on the elevation. My advice would be to go and see it at various times of day and do look at what is growing in the garden, if it has no trees around it it will get light but not direct sunshine - it is liveable with, but I have to confess it was very dark and cold in the winter. It also depends what is next door, how far north you live etc. We are now renting! and guess what, the house is on three storeys and surrounded by trees. It has been beautiful here all week and there is little or no sunshine in the back - house faces east. Go and visit in the afternoon and see which way the shadows fall. We did live in the house for 8 years and it did not put us off.

redlac · 05/09/2012 18:16

Don't do it. I love my house but it is crap in the summer when there is no sun in the back garden and I have to close all the curtains at the front cos it gets too hot and you can't see the computer screen

MadBusLady · 05/09/2012 18:16

The house I grew up in was NW facing at the back, and mum hated it, not so much because of the garden itself (it was over 100ft long so there was generally a bright bit somewhere all day long) but because the kitchen was so gloomy all day, even in the middle of summer.

Recently though I did see a house which was south-facing at the back and the kitchen was still gloomy - the garden was only about 20ft long to start with and raised about 4ft higher than the house. It was like being at the bottom of a well. And the garden was hemmed in by other houses with tiny gardens so didn't feel like it would have the light all day anyway. A lot does depend on the setting, elevation etc.

Original poster
Gravenwithdiamonds · 05/09/2012 18:36

Argh, oh dear. We don't live anywhere near the houses so it's difficult to visit at different times of the day. The house is not overlooked and gardens are big and it would be nice to have a sunny kitchen in the morning but i think it's so sad when the garden loses the sun in the afternoon, even on a sunny day. I always swore i would never buy a north-facing garden...

OP posts:
MyNeighbourIsStrange · 05/09/2012 18:39

I like a bit of shade in high summer so south facing would give no escape from the sun for adults or kids, as long as it is not a very tall house and short back garden, I would.

nondomesticgoddess · 05/09/2012 18:57

I swore I would never consider a house with a north facing garden. But when we were looking a house came on that seemed perfect in so many other ways. The sellers said that the garden got sun all day. Anyway, we went for it and moved in in Feb. I love it. The garden gets loads of sun - I was really surprised. The front of the house (living room) gets the sun all morning and into the afternoon and then the back gets some sun at the end of the day. My mum who thought I was mad to consider it (she is somewhat sun-obsessed) has been really pleasantly surprised and I thibnk it's made her re-think her views.
If it's the only compromise, I'd definitely go for it!

MadBusLady · 05/09/2012 19:05

By the way, I would definitely go for a north-facing garden if I thought there might be a glass-roofed kitchen extension in the offing, because they can be much harder to keep pleasant if they're south facing.

But that is because I am obsessed with having one.

Original poster
Gravenwithdiamonds · 05/09/2012 19:22

No chance of a kitchen extension but there is a horrid conservatory - i guess that mans it's more likely to be north-facing, no?

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Mrsladybirdface · 05/09/2012 19:45

We have a 50ft north (very slightly easterly) garden. I was dead against it at first, even though we are renting at the moment, it has been fine. We get sun in the garden all day and up to 7.30pm in the evening. We have a patio outside the french doors and at the far end, which means the dc can play without fear of sunburn.

As long as it's long enough it wouldn't put me off any more (though wouldn't have an east facing garden again)

IvanaHumpalot · 05/09/2012 20:36

It depends - my garden is north facing but is light. That is there are no tall houses around or woods etc... You can be shady but not gloomy (if that makes sense).

I can sit in my garden and not fry. I've been researching and planting some lovely plants that prefer shade - I've gone for mainly white flowers and some amazing leafy shrubs.

The bottom of my garden does get some sun for most of the day, so I might put some chairs down there - but I'm not that fussed.

Just think of it like a room, pale flooring and walls and lovely twinkly lights...

TalkinPeace2 · 05/09/2012 20:47

Surely it depends on the size of the garden and what the walls etc are like around it - have you checked it on Bing maps with bird's eye view all the way around?

exexpat · 05/09/2012 20:53

I have a small, north-ish facing garden, and it is quite damp and dark for a lot of the day, but that's because it's so small that the height of the house keeps it in shadow. If the garden is quite big, surely only a bit of it would be overshadowed?

My kitchen is at the back of the house but it is lovely and light all the time because it has a glass conservatory-style roof (yes, madbuslady, they are good, except a bit chilly at night in winter as the heat rises and escapes - I had roof blinds fitted, which helps).

Flutterbutterby · 05/09/2012 20:55

We have a N/NE facing garden. Most of it is sunny all day. I've actually been considering whether to plant trees to increase shade for the DCs. Some areas are in shade at times especially close to the house but the patio has the evening sun yaaay!

The kitchen is actually lovely and cool on a very hot day and we would be able to have a glass extension if we ever save enough.

digerd · 05/09/2012 21:03

I know one person who has a flat with all rooms facing south which he rents.
I always wanted a south facing house but then half of it is usually facing north and freezing in winter. My daughter has a north facing back garden with orangery at the back, heated in winter of course. Her front room is lovely and her garden gets the sun in summer and winter all day. Winter has the sun at the back of her garden, but she is not home much anyway. But, here in S.E, the prevailing wind is S.W. so her north facing garden is sheltered. And the house at the back of her is a long way away so brings no shade It does depend on what your priorities are and the house/ area in question. I have East front and West at back, but in winter I get none in my windows which I find depressing. if you want a live-in kitchen then you must have a south facing kitchen. The most important thing is to have nice neighbours who will stay put

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/09/2012 21:21

Our back garden is north-facing, I have to say I rather like it! Admittedly we get no sunlight hitting the ground in there from November to April, but TBH I am never in the garden in winter anyway.

The rest of the year :
The way the block is arranged there is a low garage to our east boundary, so we get a fair amount of morning sun until about 11am when the garden falls into our house's shadow. So it gets warmed up and then cools in the afternoon. This makes, for me, the perfect garden to sit and have an evening meal in, as it is shady (hate the sun in my eyes) and warm enough without been too warm IYSWIM.

It really depends what you want to use your garden for. Have a look and see what is to the east of the garden, whether it is likely to get morning sun in the summer/autumn, you might find it's just fine.

HeartOfDixie · 05/09/2012 21:52

Our garden is north facing and is ok but not brilliant. However the house is so gloomy on the north side. I will never ever buy a north facing property again. We do live in a terrace with high walls on the next door property. Also I can see how a lovely glass extension on the north facing back would transform the place but sadly for us the purse is empty!

narmada · 05/09/2012 22:28

We have a north-south facing house and north facing rear garden. It's totally fine, but the garden is long and unusually wide for a London garden at least, and there are no other properties casting shade over it.

It has definite advantages, actually: When you go on holiday you can move all your potted plants into the shade of the garden and not have to worry about watering.

You really need to get a feel for the place and the garden - hard to do from a distance tho, I can see that.

SO pleased to read that glass extensions are a goer on N-facing elevations. I want one (can't afford one tho :) )

tricot39 · 05/09/2012 22:37

Our garden is north west facing.
It is OK and I don't think of it as being "north".
At the back door it is shady in the morning and over the course of the day the sun comes around the house and shines across the garden.
We have a canopy up over the patio at the back door so that it is shady by tea time.
I find the shade pleasant as I don't enjoy sitting in full sun - however we get plenty sun in the rest of the garden during the day.
That is with a tall house and a not terribly long garden.
We are a terrace so don't have a great deal of light in the back but it is not gloomy as we have a skylight over the kitchen.
At the front we are fortunate to have a large plane tree in the pavement which shades in the summer, but conveniently sheds its leaves to maximise light in the winter!
I don't know that I would be happy with a garden which faced further north/north east/east though - so it does depend on exact orientation, height of house and length of garden.
Try to visit about lunchtime (if you can't manage different times) to see what peak sun would be like.

MadBusLady · 05/09/2012 22:41

You know what would put me off far more than a reasonably open and light north-facing garden? Neighbours' evergreens. WHY do people plant the horrible things? We saw another house with a south-facing garden that was almost completely in shadow at 2pm from a 25ft monster in the opposite garden. The EA said as we went out "It's south-facing so it's a sun-trap" which was clearly something he said for all south-facing gardens without even slightly engaging his brain.

AllPastYears · 05/09/2012 22:48

Our garden is south-facing but doesn't get any sun after about 6pm in summer, as the sun moves round to the NE and there are buildings etc. in the way. And we get hardly any sun on it in the winter as the sun doesn't get high enough to get much above the other buildings at the end of the garden.

Sigh....

Original poster
Gravenwithdiamonds · 05/09/2012 23:00

Thanks for the advice. Love Bing maps, thanks for the tip!

Both houses are detached and I think the gardens, or part of them,would get sun all day. I'm now concerned about the houses being gloomy at the back, particularly in winter. I guess it depends how ar round the sun gets from the west? Fingers crossed for Saturday... I knew one of them in particular looked too good to be true...

OP posts:
Original poster
Gravenwithdiamonds · 05/09/2012 23:02

We're seeing one house at 10.30am and the other in the afternoon. They're both on a hill, so that should help, no? I do really like the sun - it will no doubt be overcast on saturday now!

OP posts:
AllPastYears · 06/09/2012 08:47

But most people don't get sun on all sides of their house Grin. If you have a trad layout with kitchen at the back and living room at the front, you pay for having a sunny back garden/kitchen with having a gloomy living room.

MadBusLady · 06/09/2012 08:57

True, it's all personal preference. I don't mind having a gloomy living room because it's a room I usually use in the evening. Kitchen is associated with daily life for me. If I couldn't have a south-facing garden I think I'd have east-facing as a second choice. I couldn't stand being in the dark all morning.

Several people make an interesting point about the north-facing thing though, in that you get a bit of sun first thing and last thing (in the summer at least), which is generally when you need it. I'd never thought of that.

GoldPlatedNineDoors · 06/09/2012 09:00

Id rather have afternoon/evening sun in the garden for bbqs or sitting out after the kids have gone to bed. Plus, they get ratty in the afternoon so chucking them out into a bit of sunlight would be good.

Usually out in tye mornings so would miss the sun in it then.

Not sure what direction garden would have to face for that, but its my preference.

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