North facing garden - what colour paving would you choose?

puddy

I am looking to re surface or re do a patio in a house we are moving to. The garden is north facing and I want to make it as warm as possible.

If dark surfaces absorb heat, would you put dark black paving down. This is my preference for the colour but I wonder if the heat is absorbed into the paving and doesnt make any difference to the small patio area temperature.

BUT if light surfaces reflect heat, then would that mean that any heat is removed from the patio area OR would it mean that the heat is reflected off the light paving or stone and into the air of the patio area??

Does that make sense?

If a north facing garden doesnt get a lot of sun (and the garden is only 25 foot long) then would the dark paving mean the garden is very dark?

the patio area is one corner of that garden, so a quarter of the whole garden

Hatster

If you haven't yet moved in, I'd suggest living with it for a while to get an idea of how much light is coming into the garden, and how you want to use the garden. You may decide after a few months that actually you want the patio to be in a different place, or a different shape.

I don't really think that in a small North-facing garden in the UK there'll be so much heat that the colour of your paving is going to make that much difference, whether the heat will be absorbed by the paving or reflected back onto the people standing on the paving. Black sounds glamorous, but I think it will make the garden appear drab and dark.

I'd concentrate on making the garden appear warm and light on an overcast day - I'd go for a pale but warm cream colour, and choose a number of evergreen shrubs with golden-green leaves, such as euonymus 'Emerald'n'Gold' and choisya ternata 'Sundance'. It sounds like you want a 'contemporary' look, so you could add in golden-stemmed bamboos, set off with big leaved hostas.

Post us a pic and I'll give some ideas if you like!

slummymummyof3

I'd go for a creamy buff colour that will help to make the area apear larger and soften the appearance of the slabs with some shrubs.

asp746

i've got a north facing garden and put textured yellowy buff ones down but they are a pain to keep clean and have lost their colour now - they show every bit of mossy green up which is probably due to not getting any sunshine as they're permanently in the shade.

when first laid tho they do look fab.

puddy

Hatster wrote: »

If you haven't yet moved in, I'd suggest living with it for a while to get an idea of how much light is coming into the garden, and how you want to use the garden. You may decide after a few months that actually you want the patio to be in a different place, or a different shape.

I don't really think that in a small North-facing garden in the UK there'll be so much heat that the colour of your paving is going to make that much difference, whether the heat will be absorbed by the paving or reflected back onto the people standing on the paving. Black sounds glamorous, but I think it will make the garden appear drab and dark.

I'd concentrate on making the garden appear warm and light on an overcast day - I'd go for a pale but warm cream colour, and choose a number of evergreen shrubs with golden-green leaves, such as euonymus 'Emerald'n'Gold' and choisya ternata 'Sundance'. It sounds like you want a 'contemporary' look, so you could add in golden-stemmed bamboos, set off with big leaved hostas.

Post us a pic and I'll give some ideas if you like!

yes, i like the thought of black but did worry that it might make the garden look dark. i'll have to think about it like you say. hopefully it shouldnt be too soon until we move.

Suzy_M

How about mixing colours? either slabs or pavers.

MrsE_2

I second the "sunny" yellow slabs for a north facing garden.

27col

If it's anything like my north facing drive, the surface will go green with moss growth. So it does not really matter what colour you start off with.