Are north facing gardens really that bad?

[PamelaDoov]

About to move to a house with a north facing garden. I’m not sure of the exact size, it’s wider than it is long but it’s a pretty good size all round.
I’m not really a garden person- I put some flowers into a few pots during spring but that’s about it, and by the end of the summer they’re dead/bedraggled. I’m not a sun worshipper either, I’d never go into my garden to lie there and sunbathe. But I do like a bbq/garden party during the summer.
Is it really that bad having a north facing garden if I’m not arsed about growing things and getting a tan?

You can check the patterns of the sun here - www.suncalc.org

Find the house and play with the time and day . It will show you how much sun to expect

My garden faces north, I have patios at each end. I’m a very keen gardener and I have filled my garden with mostly herbaceous perennials and flowering shrubs. It’s nice, it doesn’t get too sweltering hot in summer.

By small north facing mid terrace garden doesn't get sun in winter as the sun is low, but it's still bright. In the summer the east side gets sun in the afternoon and west side in the morning and the mist of the day. Plus it means my extension with skylights and wall of glass doesn't overheat in the summer as the sun doesn't shine directly in.

The back most of the day that should say. It's full of plants - I picked ones that thrive in partial shade and it has a lush tropical feel.

My NNW facing garden is honestly the nicest garden I have ever had. It was a mature garden when I bought it and it is packed with plants. It is about 140ft long though. I too have planted trees for shade!

My front garden bakes in the summer. But come late afternoon, it's in shade. Whereas my back garden has sun pretty much all day, but especially in the latter part. Then, I watch the most amazing sunsets from the end of the garden which overlooks fields.
I would have never had considered a north facing garden if I had had a choice! But it's been brilliant. The back of the house never gets overly hot in the summer. I keep dreaming and planning expensive glass extensions... Nextdoor is a bit more sheltered and it apparently gets a bit damp. But they do have large conifers blocking the sun from the west. I think the surrounding buildings/tress make a difference. I have a bungalow to the east too which means I get the morning sun.

I suppose one good point is that the conservatory won’t be ridiculously hot! My parents garden is south facing and in the summer you can’t even put your foot on the conservatory floor.

It depends on the shape and size of your plot I'd say. Our last house was a long narrow plot, terraced 3 storey townhouse with a very small north facing back garden. Even in the height of summer it was never fully in the sun and would get a strip of sun that only lasted sort of 12-3 and then you were back into shade. I hated it and finding a different orientation of garden was number one on my list for our next house. But having said that I've got some friends who have much larger gardens that face north with better designed houses so they get significantly more sun than we got.

@PamelaDoov

I suppose one good point is that the conservatory won’t be ridiculously hot! My parents garden is south facing and in the summer you can’t even put your foot on the conservatory floor.

Indeed!

@Why2why

cobblers123
I have North facing back garden and I get sun pretty much all day. It moves around so all of my garden gets a lot of sun during the summer.
During winter It doesn't come up to the patio and back of house and that end of the lawn can be quite wet.
I like it and that's being someone who compromised on the back garden being North facing when I bought the house. I wouldn't change it now as I love the shady part when it gets really hot.
On the upside, bedroom, hall and lounge bask in sunshine in winter and can get really warm even when it's freezing outside. 🌞

How is that possible given how the sun travels? Sun all day in the garden and bedroom, hall and lounge bask in the sun during winter so much so that these parts of the house are warm?

In the summer the arc of the sun is from NE to NW, with the sun high in the sky, so most of a N-facing garden gets it pretty much all day (except for the part next to the house)

In the winter the arc is SE to SW, with the sun very low in the sky, so the S-facing front of the house gets it through the windows most of the day.

I have quite a long back garden so even in winter I get sun apart from quite close to the house.

Lounge, hall and bedroom are at the front so south facing and like yesterday, these rooms were really sunny and very warm. Not so today though, weather not as good.

I live right on the south coast, I can see the sea from my front garden as I am very close to a tidal creek.

We have a long north facing back garden and - key thing - no tall walls, houses or trees shade it at all. We have decent sized fenced walls for privacy but that's it.

Our back patio is already very sunny in the middle of the day. I've had cups of tea out there on the sunnier days last week! The lawns are wet though, will take a while to dry out, but that's the same at the moment in the south facing front garden TBF.

We have bi-folds out onto the back garden and they work great as they don't over-heat in the summer, being on the shady side of the house!

In the summer it's sunny all day - rising in the east and setting in the west and passing right overhead, we can do lovely sunny entertaining out there and it's fab!

I am careful with what I plant - put the sun-loving plants at the end of the garden not up by the house - but I'm careful what I plant in any garden :) There are good options and our garden is lovely.

I never really understand why people make such a fuss about north facing!

The lounge & our master bedroom are on the front so they will get lots of sun which is nice. I prefer the back bedrooms to be dark for the kids 😆
I think the garden goes back far enough that we will get some sun which is good.
As I said before I am not a garden person at all so it won’t break my heart if I plant the wrong flowers and they die.

We had a (very) small (17ft sq) north facing garden at our previous house - it was fine - got quite a bit of sun in the afternoon to early evening. We put a bench in the place that got most sun on it and grew roses in pots over an arch above it - they were stunning & prolific. Don’t be put off - north facing can be totally fine!!

I heard north facing gardens were rubbish and it still didn’t put me off buying the house. Now I know they’re not too bad it’s just a bonus! DH had no clue about north/south facing gardens so just looked at me blankly when i mentioned it 😂 so he’s not bothered either.
It’s good to know that plenty of people have them and are happy. Otherwise no one would ever buy a house with a north facing garden would they

Ours in north facing but long. It gets no sun in the winter but it does get some in the summer during the day which I've only really noticed now I've been working from home.

However I always sit on the front door step which is south facing as it's so much warmer, even though there's no garden as such at the front.

This is why when I eventually leave this house I am going to have photos that shows it gets full sun all the way to the back of the house because it is about position of your house and position of anything around it.

I am detached and I get morning sunshine and I put a bench there to be able to sit in sun. Later on the whole back garden gets sun as there are no houses directly to either side of me, I have garden furniture on the patio next to my house and another bench which basks in the late afternoon sun.

My garden is also very private at the front and I had a bench out there too when the children used to ride their bikes on the drive. It is nice to actually have some shade both inside and outside the house.