East Facing Garden - Yay or Nay?

[FujiWisteria]

We've seen a house we like, but not love. Reasons being that it's not in the area that we would want, but another niggle is the garden, in that it is East Facing. I've only heard that South Facing is the best - in fact, our current garden is South-Facing and we get lots of sun throughout the day, although the front of the house can be gloomy in the winter.

Would you discount a house is the garden was East Facing?

Depends on the size of the garden - if its large enough you could still get sun somewhere in the garden unless you are surrounded by close houses which would stop this?

as youve previously said a south facing garden can leave you with a dark front of house.

our best garden was south east facing so we had sun all morning at the back of the house but then the front of the house got sun late afternoon.

go and visit at different times of day and see what its like.

My last house was east facing and got plenty of sun in the day, but we weren't surrounded by large or close houses that blocked the sun. I think this makes a difference, especially we now have a north facing greenhouse that actually gets plenty of sun due to whats around it.
Also the evening sun was less, as the sun sets in the west, so not so good if you wish to sit out in evening sun. Best to go and check it out on a sunny day at different times.

Ours is east facing and very sunny. Especially lovely in the morning but we get plenty of sun throughout the day. Ours is long enough to get evening sun at the end furthest from the house. It's not just aspect you need to think about - the length, height and closeness of other buildings/fences/trees in each direction influences how much sun you get.

My least favourite house was terraced with a fully south facing garden, which was nice when the weather was good in the summer, but meant the rooms at the front of the house where we spent most of our time were north facing and pretty dark and cold for most of the year.

For me it would be a no, but others would say it’s their perfect house.

it depends on what’s right for you

My garden faces west with uninterrupted views from the south as well so it's perfect for us - sun from mid morning to sunset. The front of my house is quite dull apart from first thing in the morning but our living room is at the back so we don't mind.

I personally wouldn't buy a house with a north or east facing garden, and you admit you don't love it so perhaps this one is not for you?

Interesting - thanks for your replies so far. It's a 200ft x 30ft garden. Mature, so trees at the end, but I've noticed that the sides of the garden get shadow, presumably from the tall fencing... I think it'd be one of those gardens where you'd move the chairs around to get sun!

Also bear in mind how you want to use the garden in any house you buy and the potential for shade - mine is so sunny we don't want to be in it during any heat wave, or even a sunny day like yesterday, because it's too hot! I tend to do my gardening in the evening,

Personal choice really. We have an east facing garden and get sun until late afternoon. This works well for us as we’re more likely to be outside in the daytime than the evenings.

The garden sounds large enough. You'll prob get lovely sun at the back door area in the morning then you might want a seating are at the back of the garden for the evening. Ask the current owners. This is a good time to check as it's summer.

Yup east facing garden here and we get good sunlight for most of the day and we find it actually better as part of it gets shady during the late afternoon and our garden is not roasting in heat so we can actually enjoy it

I've had east facing before and liked it. Sun on the patio until tea time, then we moved to the other end of the garden for the evening west sun.

Our new house has an east facing garden as did our previous one (31yrs).
Works for us.
The garden has lots of sun most of the day and then in the evening the patio is in shade (just as we like) while the end of the garden gets sun until much later (we have another seating area at the end of the garden for the sun lovers).

Our garden is NE facing,by all accounts the worst possible scenario. It's about the same size as yours, but it's a detached bungalow,all bungalows this side of the road,so no buildings to shade it. We get sun in the east gradually goes round to the south, again, bungalow so sun comes over the top,sets in the west. All in all a great deal of sun.we had a quarter of an acre south facing and trying to water plants was an absolute nightmare . We spent the summer under an oak tree at the bottom of the garden.

I actually think east-west houses are way better than north - south. You get a nice mix of sun and shade in the garden throughout the day and the house layout matters much less as you never get dingy miserable rooms in winter.

Whether the garden is better easy or west facing depends a lot on the size of the garden and how you want to use it tbh. A west facing garden won't get direct sun by the house until after lunch for example.

I've always wanted a south facing Garden and this year we finally got one...don't discount anything different. It's not all it's cracked up to be is it being south facing! My baby's room is at the back and it's always boiling in there for her. Sounds spoilt but it gets too much sun and the conservatory is like a furnace. I've had East facing previously and it was fine, it still got an ok amount of sun.

We have a south facing garden and in the summer it is unusable not a single piece of shade. The bedrooms as the back are awful. Saying that an east facing garden might not get enough full sun for planting certain. Plants that love the sun as you'll get most your sun before 11am. I'd look at the part of the garden that faces towards the south and think of if you'll get that sun or is it blocked by other houses/big trees etc.

With gardens, it all depends on the size and what surrounds it. We are lucky enough to have a garden on all sides and I would say the sun is limited on the south side due to it being small and having tall trees on one side and our house on the other . North is duol majority of the times but the east and west, lovely sunny, bright and warm

We have an east facing garden and more or less get the sun until 2pm ish when it moves to the front. We then have to close the curtains in front living room if anyone is watching the TV. Our garden is about 100ft long and have very tall trees behind the back of our garden.

I much prefer an east/west orientation because all parts of the house at some time will get the sun whearas south/north facing will usually have half the house getting no sun the whole time. It’s not just a case of which way a garden is facing you need to also check if trees and other buildings will block out the light/sun. You will limit your house choices if you only go for south facing. On a day like today a south facing garden without any shade is not great for young children, I like an east facing garden if the kitchen and bathroom are at the back of the house so when I have breakfast and a shower in the morning they will get the sun. And that then means the lounge at the front is west facing when I like to relax late afternoon/early evening.

Our last house was east facing. had the sun on it all day until around 3pm when shade started to work it's way across the patio area - over 2/3rds had sun so you could still sit, play in the sun but had the benefit of the shade on days like today. We've now got a north facing garden, we have about a 1/3rd that's constantly in the sun, presently 90% has the sun. Again, great as we can sit in the shade or sun later.

I guess the only people it would be an issue for it those that want to be constantly sunbathing.

Our garden is east facing and has the sun until about 5.30pm in summer. It does mean sometimes it's too hot to do gardening during the day (like today) but mostly it works well for us. I do wish we had the sun in the evening as that's when I'm most likely to sit out but it didn't even occur to me as an issue when we bought the house (in winter).

Exactly this for us. Actually we get the sun until about 6.30 maybe. I tried to sit outside at lunchtime but it's too hot today, it will be nice for dinner outside later though. I would be more likely to sit outside in the evening than the morning so I'd really like a west facing garden. It's fine though, we do get plenty of sun, just not in the evenings. It's a real suntrap during the day. Our living room gets lovely light in the evening.

Thank you for your input everyone! We put an offer forward and it was accepted!

A south-facing garden is not all it's cracked up to be.

My parents had one years ago and on really hot summer days it was like a blast furnace out there, and the plants would shrivel up.

Congratulations. Sounds a lovely house.