To buy or not to buy - east facing corner plot

[VinoMarino]

Help needed!!! I have been driving myself mad trying to decide whether or not to reserve plot 12 on the image. The actual house is perfect, corner plot on a small estate etc but I am panicking that the garden will be dark and gloomy. It is mainly east facing, slightly north east.

I love the sun but have two small children so some shade would good. However I have a real fear that we won’t get much sun and it will have disappeared by the afternoon. I did think we could put a patio to catch any evening sun at the end of the garden but I think the far corner (by the road) will be the area in shade by the evening. Is that correct?

I’m waiting to hear what the dimensions of the garden are and can’t visit the site as it’s off plan so the build hasn’t started yet.

I’ve read so many Mumsnet posts / ways to calculate shadows but I’m really struggling to decide! Any opinions / advice gratefully received

I can't see a picture.

Sorry I’ve just signed up so can’t add image!! I will have to repost / add the image in 48 hours when I can share pictures....

There's no pic. I love my East facing garden as much as my west. Roses, hydrangeas, peonies, rhododendron and bulbs all do wonderfully with the morning sun and it's lovely to have breakfast in or an early picnic. It has all the birds too, my dc love the birdbath and watching them.

It's great for growing salads, spinach, broccoli etc too.

I can share a link to the site plan though, hopefully this will work...

www.concertliving.co.uk/media/pb0dzxg5/t2_5175_pendletonmeadows_siteplan.jpg

My garden faces due east and gets sun in some part of the garden until 5pm in the middle of summer. After 12-1pm the patio by the back door starts to get shady, which is very welcome on very hot days. The only downside is that in the evenings after 6-7pm it can feel a bit cool as the bricks aren’t giving off any residual heat as they’ve been out of the sun a while by then. I grow plenty of lovely stuff in my garden too, fruit, veg and lots of lovely flowers.

Just seen your plot layout. The top right corner of the garden will get sun all day, right into the evening. Try an app called suns path. It will show you where the sun will be.

We are north east and it’s grim ... I want to move due to lack of sun!

That's a lovely plot and I think you will get a lot of light in the garden. There is not much to impede the light coming in from the other sides of the garden.

If the plan is drawn with North at the top I think that garden will be great as it's quite long. The sun will really move around.

I think the layout of the estate you will get quite a bit of sun. Presumably those are single storey garages so they won't block much.
I'm buying a North facing terrace and as it's three houses in ot will get plenty of morning dun and in summer enough, but it won't be blazing in my north facing skylights and large glass doors.
In the winter you'll have a bit less as the sun sits lower, but I bet you aren't planning al fresco meals in January!

Looks like you would be able to pop a seat out front for evening sun if need be - no-one is facing you.

Thanks so much everyone, your messages have been so helpful. I was worried that the far end of the garden wouldn’t get much sun as it’s North facing and that the neighbouring house / garage could block the sun from the West. House buying is hard!!

I wouldn’t, if you love the sun. You can always create shade in a sunny garden but you can’t make a shady garden more sunny.

@TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet thanks so much for the app suggestion, I’ll be downloading it

The back garden will get morning sun, and the sunny part is the wall / fence alongside the road. The top right corner will get evening sun.

You won't get evening sun outside the back door as the house will block it. The front of the house will be lovely in the evening with the pond opposite, but would you use the nature reserve thingy?

Personally I'd prefer the other plot, 14, because despite being a north west facing back garden the summer sun will come across from the west by the back of the house in the evening. The morning (and winters) will be dark though. Also I don't like a garden by a road.

What length is the garden? It looks long from the picture but hard to know. It's not just how the garden faces, it's also other buildings/ trees etc. You don't have any obstacles only your own house so I think the back of the garden should get a good amount of sun from March- October.
We have a north facing garden (about 40m long) and also we're concerned initially (we moved in winter) but I t gets loads of sun all day long and we just landscaped the back and it's a sun trap from 1pm onwards. We also have a little seating area near back door to catch the morning sun with a coffee.

@Roodicus21great news that you get so much sun! I’ve been told it’s about 18m long so, not as long as yours by any stretch. Hopefully long enough to get a bit of evening sun in the far corner though?

@Rollercoaster1920 thank you and I agree that plot 14 would be better but it won’t be built until April next year unfortunately and we can’t wait that long

Plot looks decent to me. You can have a bench in your front garden for evening G&Ts in the sun.

Sounds like heaven @YellowFish12

Our front garden is north east facing and I wouldn't want it as a back garden. It gets a little sun nearest the road but generally it's full of moss, damp and grows mushrooms. I wouldn't buy that house, personally.

I wouldn’t. Ours is easy facing a glorious is the morning but it can be a bit depressing when the suns away the front and you can only sit at the back. We’re actually considering moving because of it which is a shame as I adore my house.

Sun is important.