Garden orientation - would you buy SE facing?

violets33

Looking at buying a house with a SE facing garden, slightly more to the east approximately 125deg from North. The garden is about 50ft long. Ideally I would love a west facing garden but in the area where we are looking most of the streets would be SE or NW. Houses come up very rarely and this one is on a quiet and peaceful cul-de-sac. The house otherwise is great with lots of potential but worried about lack of evening sun and a dark kitchen. Any thoughts? Would it be as bad as I think? 

Grumpy_chap

Can you put a nice sun-deck at the far end of the garden to relax and enjoy the evening sun?  That is what we have, away from all the houses so it is quiet and planted around so we feel like we are in the middle of the countryside there is nowhere better to relax with a glass of wine come the evening.

hazyjo

Mine's east facing with a smaller garden. We sit but the bottom of the garden as the sun disappears from outside the back doors. It's pretty sunny for most the day down there though.

Kitchen is at the back. Haven't noticed it's dark, but not averse to putting lights on so that's probably why. 

Depends what's next to you and how tall your house is really.

Why don't you just arrange a viewing for the time you're worried about.

Are you keen gardeners? Just want to sit out chatting late? Kids?

jimbog

Mine is East facing (used to live across the road which was West facing) and much prefer it now. Whereas the sun was blasting on me in the afternoon and evening it is now falling on the garden as I look at it (in the shade) - I can always go to the end of the garden if I want to be in the sun
This might help:
https://www.suncalc.org/#/51.5064,-0.1272,9/2020.07.15/22:31/1/3

Competsoph

@jimbog that is absolutely brilliant, thank you so much for sharing!

freesha

Ours is SE facing and I love it.

violets33

Hi All, thank you so much for your responses. It sounds like lots of people actually really like their SE gardens so that's making me feel much better. I definitely would not be averse to setting up a seating area at the  back, with a 50ft long garden would the sun stay at the back into the evening? The house is 2 storey but with fairly low ceilings. It is a semi with a low garage on the southwest side of the house so I was hoping that some of the evening sun coming from the W/ NW will actually filter through the gap. Hoping to do some gardening & veg growing and also just like spending time outside, reading or drinking wine in the evenings. No kids yet, but possibly a consideration for the future. 

SameOldRoundabout

We have a west facing garden. It’s beautiful and sunny most of the day in summer but the sun is gone by 5 even at the peak of summer. Our kitchen at the back is always super dingy too even though the garden is sunny. My east facing living room is always bright (with a cool toned light after about 11am). 

Ditzy_Mitzy

It doesn't make that much difference, or perhaps not as much difference as estate agents claim it does!  Ours faces in an Easterly direction, not directly due East, but the sun rises over the back fence and sets at the front of the house.  When it's hot the garden stays warm well into the evening and it's also a fairly good place to grow things.  I suspect the most important factor is the length of the garden, essentially the longer it is the further the sun has to travel in relation to it and the more warmth you get.  Ours is reasonably long (and narrow), meaning that the sun is still over the garden at his zenith and doesn't dip over the house roof until fairly late in the afternoon.  I'm talking about summer of course, winter is anyone's guess!! 

RelievedSheff

Our garden is east facing and it is lovely and sunny in the morning. We lose the sun off the patio at about 2pm and the last of the sun leaves the garden by 5pm. Our garden although not very big is surrounded by tall walls so is a real sun trap. The sun going from the garden earlier has proved to be a real god send on hotter days.

The front of our house is south facing and almost all of the rooms have a south facing window which makes the house heat up too much in really hot sunny weather!

quotememiserable

SameOldRoundabout said:

We have a west facing garden. It’s beautiful and sunny most of the day in summer but the sun is gone by 5 even at the peak of summer. Our kitchen at the back is always super dingy too even though the garden is sunny. My east facing living room is always bright (with a cool toned light after about 11am). 

But surely if it faces west you get sun until sunset - so currently 9:30 or bit ealier depending what buidlings are behind you.