North facing garden

[mysaladdays]

So when we were looking at houses, a south facing garden was high on the list. We saw this house, however and really liked it, so put an offer in and got it. We still like the house and are happy here, but the fact that it has a north facing garden sort of got lost along the way.

So, does anyone else have a north facing garden and how do you make the most of it? We don't regret our purchase, but I want to get started on the garden as the weather improves and make the most of it.

Thanks in advance

Do you mean the back of the house faces north? If so the far end of the garden will be S-facing, & you will also get sun from the sides, unless you have tall trees all round?

Does it get any sun? There are north facing gardens and north facing gardens; if it's large and/or not overlooked by tall buildings you may well still get some sun.

The bottom of your garden is the best place for a patio with table/chairs, or a flower border, as this will get the most sun. But you can also do nice things with your west facing side as this will get sun on an afternoon and evening. The part closest to your house and the east facing side can be planted with shade loving plants. There are loads of these - have a look at the north facing plant selection on the Crocus website for inspiration.

We've got a north facing garden and are quite happy. For a start there's not much of the year when it is an issue. Then when it is, we still get sun for a chunk of the day when it is high in the sky. And I never worry about the children playing out there because there's plenty of shade.

Is your concern about children playing, growing things or you being able to sit in the sun? Or something else?

Thanks for the replies. It's not a tiny garden, but it's certainly not what you'd call large. The house is a three bed semi and does have tall hedges round the outside. We've only lived here over the winter, so haven't seen it when the sun is high- I stupidly hadn't thought about the bottom of the garden being south facing, so they are interesting points rhubarb and theone.

Obviously shade is important for dc, I do like to have the opportunity to sit in the sun and warmth (when we get it!) and also a lot of the stuff I've come across for lovely gardens has been about south facing/sunny ones. So as a novice gardner, I'm after inspiration

Come on over to the gardening board for lots of inspiration and friendly advice!