North facing garden...is it worth it

Albala

sgun said:

Beardybaldy said:

sgun said:

I would absolutely hate it. In fact I wouldn't even view houses with north facing gardens. Friends of ours bought in haste and only realised after buying that to get any sun after they get home from work they need to sit in the front garden which isn't private. So it isn't really about what other people think - it's about how much having sun in the evenings is a deal breaker for you - and how much sun you will actually get in the evenings (potentially not much if there are other buildings shading the light).

Sounds like one example of a really bad experience. Unless the garden is exactly North facing and very short, it's going to get some sun, even in the evening.

In my North North East facing back garden, the last of the evening sunshine lands right in the corner where I built the first of two patios. The front only gets maybe half an hour more sunshine max. 

But you're right. There are situations where you'd get no sun in the evening, but I think these are the exception rather than the rule. 

I am a garden designer  and I like sunshine. So north facing is a big, big no for me. I could work with one and turn it into a shady oasis but if sun is important then north facing is not gong to do what you want.

Our last garden was North-facing and it got tons of light, just not right up against the house.  So we put a conservatory there, which was lovely and light and didn't overheat.