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South facing etc

highbrowlowlife19highbrowlowlife19 Posts: 9
in Garden design
Hi everyone, 

Apologies very basic question. 

I’m trying to understand gardening terms so that I can design where plants are suitable to be grown. 

I have a north facing garden, there isn’t a house adjacent to me on one side of the terrace so I get a lot of light. 

In my north facing garden the back fence is then south facing, the right hand fence is then west facing? That’s why they get the most light? 

Many thanks 

A

Posts

  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    Yep. 

    A north facing back garden can be pretty much a south facing garden if it’s big enough to not be in the house shadow and isn’t blocked either side. 
      

    Mine is like that. Only a third of my garden is truly north facing. The rest gets almost as much sun as my front south facing garden. 
  • highbrowlowlife19highbrowlowlife19 Posts: 9
    Fab - thanks green man. It’s a long thin garden so a lot is out of the shadow. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - it's as @TheGreenMan says - when a garden is called south facing, that's when you're standing at the main house walls looking out, so the back fence/wall/boundary would be north facing etc. 
    However, that's only part of the picture in terms of the amount of sun/shade a plot gets. Lots of other factors affect that, from size and other houses, to sheds and trees and hedges etc. My front garden is north west facing, but the end farthest from the house gets plenty of sun, from spring onwards, for the reasons given but also because there's nothing near enough to block it.  :)
    If you're unsure and want help with placing plants or similar, don't be afraid to ask, and some photos always help too.
    Bear in mind too that, when plants are said to need full sun, that's determined by summer conditions, and full sun would be about 6 or 7 hours upwards   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • highbrowlowlife19highbrowlowlife19 Posts: 9
    Great thank you fairy girl - that is really useful and also the tip about full sun is in summer. I’m currently clearing out rubble and brambles but will be asking about beds once I’ve created them. 
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