A south facing garden is supposed to be the best for getting the sun all day long.The sun rises in the east and sets in the west so why is a north facing not as good.Also which way gets the least sunshine.
Our front garden faces south and does get the sun all day. Our back garden is north facing and is in the shadow of the house for a lot of the day except in high summer when the sun is high enough over the house. Janice
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west so why is a north facing not as good.Because in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is below the zenith during its observed travel from east to west and hence if you are facing south, the sun is shining directly on you during the day. If you are facing North, the sun is shining on your back and in the case of a garden, the shadow of the house blocks the sun most of the time.Also which way gets the least sunshine. North gets the least.Tokia
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west so why is a north facing not as good.Because it is in the shadow of the house for much of the day. A south facing garden, which sort of assumes there is no immediate obstruction in front of it, would get uninterrupted sun from dawn to dusk (uk weather permitting, of course).A north facing garden, with trees or other obstructions on either side, may get little or none except in the height of summer when the sun is more or less overhead.
It also depends how big the garden is, if north facing.Our rear garden is north facing, but we get plenty of sun at the bottom of the garden.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west This is only strictly true at the equator. In the northern hemisphere, the sun rises south of east, and sets south of west, whislt in the southern hemisphere it rises north of east and sets north of west. so in England the sun is always in the southern half of the sky, which is why a south facing garden wil glet the sun but a north facing one be in the shadow of thwe house.
In the northern hemisphere, the sun rises south of east, and sets south of west, whislt in the southern hemisphere it rises north of east and sets north of west.This is a very confusing statement and not strictly true.The time of year is important to its validity. And the sun cannot rise SE in the north and at the same time rise NE in the south.In rough terms, in a northern winter the sun rises SE, sets SW both sides of the equator. In a northern summer the sun rises NE, sets NW both sides. Around the equinox the sun rises due E and sets due W, again the observer's latitude does not change this.SiamLafo
Depends how far north/south you are: on the north pole the sun rises in the south and sets in the south!
Depends how far north/south you are: on the north pole the sun rises in the south and sets in the south!Well, that's true enough - from the north pole all directions are south.But if we're gonna be pedantic about it, the sun doesn't rise or set at all at the poles, except when it moves across the celestial equator at the time of the equinox.Cheers,SiamLafo
But if we're gonna be pedantic about it, the sun doesn't rise or set at all at the poles, except when it moves across the celestial equator at the time of the equinox.Hi SiamLafoThat can't be right, can it? I mean if, in mid-winter, you have 24 hours of darkness and, in mid-summer, 24 hours of daylight, there must be times in between when you have varying hours of each. So the sun must rise and set.RegardsAlan
Hi Alan,The sun moves in the sky in two ways:1) A daily circuit of the point in the sky directly above the earth's pole (the celestial pole, which, in the north, is close to the star Polaris). This motion is due to the rotation of the earth.2) An annual movement along the ecliptic, due to the earth's orbit of the sun.(This is simplified, of course - there are other less pronounced movements, such as that due to the precession of the equinoxes.)It is the rotation of the earth (1) that causes the sun to rise and set for most observers on the earth. But for an observer at the pole, the celestial pole is directly overhead. So the sun (and all celestial objects) circling that point move parallel to the horizon. At night at the poles the stars never rise and never set. And neither does the sun during the day.The sun will eventually rise and set at the poles, but this is due entirely to its motion along the ecliptic (2). And this is quite different in nature to the rising and setting caused by the earth's rotation.Again I'm simplifying by ignoring atmospheric refraction, etc.HTH,SiamLafo
why is a south west faceing garden the best then?
why is a south west faceing garden the best then? So you can sit in it when you get home from work and enjoy the last of the sun and a cold beer/wine/beverage of your choice!
Hi Sian, you seem to know about these things. I'm in process of buying SE facing garden but am desperate to make sure I can sit out on Patio next to house in evening in summer and latish afternoon in spring autumn. Could you give specific detailsabout sun? There are houses on a slight hill to the west of it on the other side of a road. thanks
I'm in process of buying SE facing garden but am desperate to make sure I can sit out on Patio next to house in evening in summer and latish afternoon in spring autumn.I'm afraid if your patio is at the rear of the house I don't think you will get sun to the rear of the house afternoon/evening. If your garden is orientated towards the SE you will get most of your sun earlier in the day.We live in a flat with a West facing balcony and we get sun in the afternoon/evening (often with beautiful sunsets). The flats on the East facing side of the block are in shade by that time of the day.Is it possible to go and have a look at the house on a sunny afternoon ?Cheers Kath
I'm in process of buying SE facing garden but am desperate to make sure I can sit out on Patio next to house in evening in summer and latish afternoon in spring autumn.My present house has a South facing garden, as did my last one (both due south).Personally, I find the sun a little oppressive, and retreat indoors when it is shining. Ideally, I would have some sort of shade during the hottest part of the day (either one of those sails or some vegetation).
Thanks. Will try to get a look (if we get any sun this year!)However, I still won't know what it's like in winter. Might be best to hold out for true south or SW as I wnat sun all day. Any ohter thoughts from people with SE facing gardens?
In the height of summer, a SW facing backgarden (and patio) can get very hot. Ours faces SE. We have a conservatory which is beautifully sunny in the morning, but by 2-3 pm the sum has moved past the neighbours house and to the front of our house. This means that the conservatory never gets very hot. If it was SW facing we would need blinds to stop the temperature in the conservatory reaching unbearable levels.
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