I don’t understand why south facing gardens are sought after

[Uncomplicated]

I was wondering if someone could help explain this to me. I have googled it and it says if you exit your house and stand in the garden with your back to the house and your compass points south, then your garden is south facing. But why is that so important? Surely if you are in anything but a south facing garden you can just position yourself or your chair so you are south facing. Also how does a south facing garden apparently get more sun? Is it because your house isn’t blocking the sun? Because even if your house doesn’t block the sun, your neighbours probably will.

Oh and while my garden faces north east it’s 100ft long so we get sun in it all evening at the far end so that’s never been an issue. I think if your garden is big enough it doesn’t matter which way it faces.

The house I’m in temporarily has a north west garden and the substantial patio is always in the shade. The kitchen at the back of the house feels cold even now. I always gravitate towards the front of the house to be in the light.
To be the best position is south east.

I wouldn't have North facing again.
I currently have South East facing, but next one will be South (unless it is really big).

We are east facing. As the sun rises from the east we have lovely sunshine in the morning before it gets too hot. The height of the summer has the sun in the garden for longer and by the evening the sun is only in the top of the garden once the sun has gone over the house. This is great for us as we can enjoy a warm (but not too hot) evening in the garden without having to create shade.

People use it as a shorthand for a sunny garden, but you do need to apply some common sense. For a flat roofed bungalow with a long garden, the orientation would make much less difference than for a three storey town house with a small garden.

It's just to do with how much light your garden (and the rooms that side of the house) receive. Our garden is south - south west which I didn't realise until we'd moved in. It's pretty sunny all day long. In the heat I find it difficult and have to try to sit in the little bit of shade cast by trees/fence at the bottom.

But I previously lived in a house with an easy facing garden which meant that the entire garden was cold and shaded every evening, when you might want to sit out to eat or have people over.

The biggest bonus of this is that most of the rooms in our house also face the back garden. Two bedrooms, kitchen and living room. The smallest bedroom is north/north east and very dark by comparison. The bathroom is west but facing another house so also gets very little light. As a person who struggles with winter and has moods effected by low light, I am so glad to have all of this light in the house. It really lifts my spirits. I'd struggle to move to a house which wasn't as light and airy as this one.

We had an East facing rear garden and it was miserable for most of the year.
We are now east/ west which is lovely, sun at the front in the early mornings and moves over to the back for the rest of the day, so both sides get the sunshine, made a huge difference

Depends where in the country you are too. I’m in north west, maritime climate, we get fewer hours of sunshine than in the south and it’s much cooler than south east or west of U.K.

our love the south west facing back garden, but even it gets no sun apart from a tiny chink of afternoon sun, from October to March. Due to surrounding buildings.

our north east facing front garden gets sun till lunchtime all year.

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I have North facing. I love it because I never have to worry about dc getting sunburnt as there's plenty of shade.

I have west facing and imo this is perfect, always areas of shade and sun and the sun doesn’t leave the garden until late. A south facing garden would be too hot for me.

I notice it because I like gardening; if you don't, you probably won't care. It's not just about size. My current garden is south facing, so the house gets baked in the sun. Bricks hold the heat (that's why people used to build walled gardens), and so the whole garden stays warmer for longer and plants grow better. You definitely notice this over a much larger area than you'd think.

I also wonder if the fuss about south-facing gardens comes from those types of houses where the living room is usually looking out over the garden? My living room faces north-west, and though I love my house, the one thing I'd change if I had money is this. It's light enough because the windows are big, but most of the winter it's not a sunny room.

It completely depends on your priorities. Our garden is NE facing and ideal for us. We are not overlooked at all and I can dry washing outside from March to October as long as it isn't raining. We are able to have a lot of glass at the back of the house. We grow a lot of our own fruit and vegetables and anything that needs really full sun (eg tomatoes, chillis etc) we grow in the front garden, which is SW facing and gets absolutely baked in the summer. I would find a back garden of this orientation absolutely stifling and certainly wouldn't pay a premium for it but each to their own.

East/west houses are a pain, because the garden gradually gets sun; then later gradually loses sun, so if you are sitting outside you will be moving your chair down the garden as it goes into shade.

I have never viewed a house without taking a compass with me to see which way different room face.

I do think that full south-facing gardens are going to lose some of their cachet in the coming years as the UK climate changes.

I have a north facing garden and get sun all day. Yes the area just behind my hoise doesn't get sun all day but the other 3/4 if it does. People need to stop thinking all north facing gardens are bad

Our small terraced garden is south facing and a real sun trap. It doesn't get hot where I am at all (23-24c max couple days a year if we are lucky) so sheltered sunny spot at your back door is a very good thing. If we had weather like south of England I am sure it wouldn't matter as much.

The sun makes me ill so I would hate a south-facing garden.
This article has interesting diagrams of where the sun will fall throughout the day in gardens with different aspects.
www.gardenersworld.com/plants/types-of-garden-shade/

South facing get more sun because your house isn’t shading your garden. Most houses have a garden backing onto a neighbour’s garden rather than a house, so that’s how it works. Obviously if your garden is really long then there’s still some left in sun.
In summer the sun is more overhead so it matters a bit less, but the rest of the year it can really affect whether your garden gets sun. Have a look at some front gardens not at midday, on either side of a street and you’ll see.

I have a south facing garden with no trees or shade. As I live in the south east it is usually too hot to sit in the garden in the summer and plants die from heat and lack of rain. The back of the house is uncomfortably hot in the summer as well. I would prefer north facing.

We’ve had garden East facing and when we sold and bought I only looked at S or W

We bought west facing and I really like the evening sun, the sun is already there fairly early anyway

I want to say my house is East-South, not sure if that's a real thing, but it's more East than South so 🤣. We get the sunrise until 4pm, 6pm in the height of summer.

It depends on your lifestyle though. I work at home and spend most of it in the garden. I'm an early riser and I've had enough sun by teatime, even on days off. I then enjoy sitting in my lounge which has glorious sunshine until sunset. So it's all relative and personal.

It also depends how long your garden is. If you have a very short square garden, then there's a chance that the shadow from your neighbour's house will cover your garden even if it is south facing. If you have a long garden, then the shadow from your own house won't cover the whole garden.

Personally, my preference is for a long, North facing garden. That way you can have a patio area behind the house which is shaded, but the bottom of the garden is in the sun. But in the depths of winter, it's a small patch of sun, and it doesn't last long.

When I had a South facing garden I ended up needing two massive parasols to give us a bit of shade. But then again, I'm not a massive sun worshipper!

I prefer my East facing garden as I get the sun directly on my through lounge all day which is much better. The garden is relatively small and gets sun directly on it all day into early evening. It's a Victorian terrace. My last house I lived my west facing garden as the lounge was at the rear.

For me I like the sun on my living space as I can only use my garden for part of the year.

Thanks @Zoeslatesttrope. They’re interesting diagrams. My garden is East Facing but on a corner plot which is probably why I’ve have become so confused as my garden isn’t back to back with someone else’s and is actually quite sunny all day every day

We have a south facing garden and I love it for all the light we get in the house but the heat is unbearable at times! We also don’t have any natural shade in the garden so it renders it useless (to me) on hot days.

However, I love the low winter sun. You can sit by the window and it really warms you up. Perfect for when I’m taking an afternoon nap!