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Original poster

North facing rear garden - are there any good points?

13 replies

Fizzylemonade · 25/01/2009 18:55

Have been eyeing a house which seems quite lovely, but it has a north facing back garden.

I have 2 boisterous boys who love playing out, our current garden is almost south facing which is great in some ways but means our house gets hot, our wooden floor is bleached out etc etc.

So, has anyone got a north facing back garden? Is it an issue with small children? Will it be forever in shadow?

OP posts:
ProfRichardDawkins · 25/01/2009 18:57

I wouldn't buy a house with a north facing garden. In face I will only buy a house with a garden that faces somewhere between due south and due west.

foxinsocks · 25/01/2009 19:00

how long is it? ours is north facing and still gets sun for all of the summer (as the house isn't very tall)

GrapefruitMoon · 25/01/2009 19:00

Whether or not it will always be in shadow will probably depend on surrounding buildings, trees, etc. My garden faces eastish - so the part nearest the house is sunny in the morning and by evening most of the garden is in shade - it would be nicer to have some sunshine in the evening, esp in summer for eating outside. However, there is a lot of shade in general during the day due to some large trees and this is good for fair skins playing outside...

beansontoast · 25/01/2009 19:02

it depends how long the garden is.

my sis had a north facing backgarden,that was quite long and not over shadowed.

the plus side was that she has a beautiful terrace at the far end of the garden...so you could sit/play in the sun if you wanted...but the house end of the garden had another terrace where you could eat (food doesnt spoil at a party for example)and the house was a cool retreat.

it took a bit of getting used to,but i am def a convert.

foxinsocks · 25/01/2009 19:04

in fact, our garden is very short (probably onlt 20 foot) but because the house is short, it still gets loads and loads of sun

the front of the house is always very warm which is lovely in winter - it's something you get used to!

boccadellaverita · 25/01/2009 19:06

As others have said, there are some benefits. A garden where children can play without risk of sunstroke after 20 minutes can be a real asset during holidays. And, as long as the garden isn't so enclosed that no sun ever reaches it, there are plenty of plants which will thrive.

jalopy · 25/01/2009 19:14

Another thing to consider is - will your kitchen be north facing too? That would be an issue for me too.

The direction of the garden was high on my list of 'must-haves' when I was house hunting.

Original poster
Fizzylemonade · 25/01/2009 19:55

Kitchen is on the back so is north facing too.

The house is on a modern new build estate (it is round corner from where I live now) so even though we have south-ish facing garden there is shadow at certain points of the day because of surrounding houses/trees.

The garden of the other house isn't long as you can imagine on these box type houses, I love them because I can still walk to the local primary school where my son goes.

I can't even open my kitchen blind in the morning as the sun beams in and bounces off the stainless steel sink

Thanks for your comments, makes me ponder

OP posts:
beansontoast · 25/01/2009 20:02

south facing is amazing in the winter though...our living rooms are at the back of the house and even in winter it is warm (cheap)

BUT mid afternoon in dec/jan/feb everyone has to squint!

know what you mean about 'sink glare' though...and you cant leave butter out for a minute.

oh its six of one and half a dozen of the other!

LoveMyLapTop · 25/01/2009 20:12

My garden is north facing, but get s the sun at the bottom of the garden until late evening and is a pleaasant place to sit.
The kitchen is at the back so can be on the dark side but I have fitted it out in cream and stainless steel so it is not that bad and sstays cool in the summer ( whats one of them)
The front of the house gets all the sun so i have put a bench out theree to sit on if i fancy some sun!
Have managed A veg plot too!

lalalonglegs · 25/01/2009 20:19

My old house had a garden that was north facing and I was amazed by how much sun it did get (during summer at least). I don't like really bright light - pale skin, pale eyes, makes me really uncomfortable - and so I was quite happy with having shade in some areas/not having to squint the whole time. It also means that your plants are a lot more stable, iyswim, because you can't plant the real sun-lovers/show-stoppers so you tend to have subtler stuff that lasts longer and needs less care. As long as your kitchen has big windows/doesn't have a huge tree in front of it, you should be fine.

Original poster
Fizzylemonade · 26/01/2009 10:16

Thanks everyone, maybe I will have to wait to see if it is still on the market when we get some sun!

OP posts:
LIZS · 26/01/2009 15:40

Ours is about 200' long and in high summer we get sun right up to the house for several hours a day.

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