Would you buy a house with North East garden?

[Sparkle880]

I need help as I am driving myself insane knowing what to do for the best!!! We are currently looking for our long term family home and for nearly a year have not found anything suitable (we are used to renovating property and having everything to our tastes so seem to have become quite picky) but we now have two DC in tow so want an easier life!!! We have found a property on a new build estate, it is a 4 bed detached with lovely big kitchen/dining living area, with a detached double garage (with a private area for seating in between the garage and the front of the house, about 15ftx15ft ) looking out of to a tree lined pond. We did think we wanted a big garden (but had a wish list as long as our arm) however the garden on the property is 30ft in length by about 25ft in width, this seems small in comparison to what we had envisioned but the inside of the house works well, is at the end of a small cul-de-sac with no through traffic and has green space nearby. Please help!!! Will I forever be regretting this, I am terribly worried that the back garden will be small, dark and dingy!!!

Mine is NW facing and its fine. We get the morning sun towards the back of the garden and by afternoon/ evening we get it more towards the house.

It good for kids running around as they don't get too hot and I don't worry as much about them being fried alive in summer. Shade can also be a blessing.

I'll also add. The rooms at the front of the house,
The living room, bathroom end our bedroom get SO much light. It's really nice.

I live in the North West and in the summer it can feel too hot to sit in my back garden. Think of how nice it would be to have a cooler spot to sit out in and enjoy.

I personally would not give the hootiest of hoots about what direction a garden faces, or is size (except that a really big garden might be off-putting because I'd have to look after it). I don't care. I barely go out there anyway. In terms of resale, rest assured that people like me exist and it won't be a deal breaker for everyone, and think more about whether it would work for you.

The end of a cul-de-sac can be a great location (I grew up in a house like that, my dad still lives there and all the neighbours are incredibly close-knit and friendly) and having green space nearby seems like another bonus. I think maybe ask yourself the question of how much a big south-facing garden is on your wishlist because you'll actually use and benefit from it, and how much it's there because it seems like a nice idea and the sort of thing people put on wishlists. That should help you find your answer!

Personally no, north west is nice as you will get evening sun. It depends on the size of the garden.

To people saying a South facing garden is too hot - it's easy to create shade in a South facing garden, it's impossible to create sun in a North facing garden.

That's about the size and direction of our garden. It is dark, and it does get very damp. If you're a sun lover or keen gardener (and not specifically interested in hostas and woodland plants!) then I'd avoid. Personally I don't mind it as I hate being too hot and I can be out in the warm air in the middle of summer, yet always find somewhere cooler to sit! It does get sun everywhere but the first few feet from the house at the sunniest parts of the day, just not for long.

I've been in my west midlands garden this morning to enjoy some sunshine, so the blabber of 'it's England, we don't get any sunshine' is the usual nonsense.

very hard to tell off-plan. and if that green space also gets built on, you'll need your garden.

@Persipan I may just be choosing to seek comfort in the positive posts but I think i am mostly swayed to agreeing with you and plumping for the property it is tucked away and only 7 other houses on the bit of road by the house so DC could easily ride bikes etc up and down safely and we could sit in the front garden to keep an eye on them!!! Hmmmm lots to consider and I know most people here have said ‘no’ and that does worry me, but my overriding feeling is that all the other factors are probably more important!!! Hmmmm

If be more worried about the tree lined pond. A lot of new builds are built on the flood plane. Location is more important than anything else IMO, the rest can be worked on.

I would, unless it was very dry soil also , as I like plants and dark dry is very hard

Larger gardens can be a lot of hard work

Shady gardens can be nice in summer and in winter I don't go out there much

Kids playing don't notice , but shade is better for their skin

We have a north facing back garden. With the extreme summers we are having it's a blessing. I wouldn't want a south facing garden these days

I live at the highest point in the Chilterns with a tree lined pond in the village. Ground water does not drain into it. It runs off both sides of the hill and pond staddles the hill on a ridge. It is basically a depression in the clay on top of the chalk underneath. Not all ponds are in valleys or take water from surrounding areas. I would be concerned for small child safety though.

I think another issue is land drainage for the estate. However, these days there are huge efforts made to ensure ground water is retained in the soil and run off is often collected in planted marshy areas. Look at the planning permission to see what SUDS was agreed.

Buying off plan is risky. It is so difficult to visualise. If it is in a valley or near a water course, you should definitely be aware of the SUDS proposals. Not all new builds are in flood plains by any means.

There are lots of things that sound lovely about the house, interior layout, nice seating area near the pond, quiet cul de sac. We used to have a massive south west facing garden and honestly in the heat of the summer it was just too much. I spent all my time running round putting hats and sun cream on the dcs and we had to have a big voile type curtain up at the french doors as the evening sun would just blaze in and overheat the whole back of the house. So I think if the interior is nice and the garden is okay to have a little sit in and to kick a ball about in then it sounds like a goer.

I had a small north east facing garden and got a huge amount of sun from behind the garage and onto the paved area in front of the back of the house. In the summer we lived in our garden but even in winter we could still drink coffee on our little outdoor table from lunchtime to approx 5pm.

So I guess it just depends on how overlooked you are and whether other houses might block the sunlight.

We did after saying I would never live in a house with a north facing garden. But the house is otherwise perfect and the back garden is 40m long. We've not long moved in so don't know how it will be in spring/ summer but figure the gardens so long it won't be overshadowed by the house. It's no different to having two houses that back onto each other both with 20 metre long gardens. The one with the south facing garden will get the same amount of sun that I will at the back of my garden. Plus our garden isn't overlooked which is great. We have a landscaper coming out tomorrow to create a fab decking/ bbq/ hot tub area up the back.

Our garden faces North East. It’s a dream in summertime as the back of the house is always cool - our kitchen and bathroom are at the back. We have plenty of sun for most of the garden.
Would happily buy a North East facing garden again.

Thanks @Mouseparty our last house was SW and we had a large extension with lots of glass and it was unbearable on a hot day so I do see the positives with the NE. Out of interest would you say your garden is on the more generous side? Thanks x

@Sparkle880 We have a modest garden, approximately 12m long. It doesn’t get much sun throughout winter but from Spring onwards it’s enjoyable. We have a patio along the back of the house as well as a seating area at the end of the garden so we can find shade and sunshine throughout the summer.

No. I've been spoilt with a south facing garden and it's so good to have sun all day.

I previously lived with a west-ish facing garden and you couldn't have lunch or evening bbqs in it, bloody freezing whatever the weather.

Wow I've just discovered a new world!

We recently completed on our first property- a 2 bedroom maisonette- it didn't really occur to either of us which way the garden faces

I'm going to find out tomorrow!

As long as you're prepared to plant to your conditions and not be constantly disappointed when sun-living plants won't thrive, there's no reason why any garden can't be beautiful and useable. My favourite borders in mine are my north facing shady woodland border and my east facing fern border.

^sun-loving

This depends on the overall layout, we have a North facing garden, but it is higher than the house, so the house doesn't block much light. I normally find there is not enough shade in most of the garden and spend a lot of time lurking on the patio immediately behind the house. I am a shade lover though and spend my life arranging beach tents and things so that I don't have to sit in direct sunlight.

Our house is bright as the living room and kitchen diner are dual aspect, so they have large south facing windows, as well as opening on to the garden. I never understand why people think houses with North facing gardens are dark, as most houses have windows on both sides, so it entirely depends on the room layout.

I wouldn’t sorry