Garden sun path planner
Which way your garden faces changes everything
Understand how sunlight moves through your garden throughout the year, and what it means for your patio, planting and outdoor living.
Stand at your back door and face the garden. At midday on a clear day, if the sun is directly ahead your garden faces south. You can also use a compass app on your phone – stand facing the garden and the direction the app shows is your garden’s aspect. If the app reads south-west, your garden is south-west facing.
South-facing and south-west-facing gardens generally offer the most sun for a patio throughout the year. South-west aspect delivers strong afternoon and evening sun, making it ideal for after-work use. South-east aspect catches morning and midday sun. West-facing gardens are popular for evening entertaining. North-facing gardens receive limited direct sun but can still provide comfortable seating areas with careful placement towards the far end of the garden, away from the shadow cast by the house.
Yes, significantly. South and south-west facing gardens suit sun-loving plants including Lavandula angustifolia, roses, Agapanthus africanus, salvias, Echinacea purpurea and most Mediterranean species. East and north-east facing gardens suit shade-tolerant plants such as hostas, astilbes, hellebores, ferns and pulmonarias. North-facing gardens support a surprisingly wide range including Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, Fatsia japonica, Aucuba japonica, Sarcococca and many woodland perennials. The plant table in the planner above lists species filtered to your chosen aspect.
Yes. A north-facing garden is not a problem to be solved – it is a set of conditions to design around. Light-coloured surfaces, mirrors and pale planting help reflect available light. Positioning seating at the far end of the garden, away from the house, often captures more sun than you might expect. Choosing the right plants is the most important step, and our north-facing garden design guide covers the full range of options.
Aspect determines when and where sun falls across your garden throughout the day and across the seasons. A south-facing patio directly outside the back door may be sunny in summer but shadowed by the house in winter. A west-facing patio may be in shade at lunchtime but ideal at 6pm. Understanding your aspect lets you position seating, dining areas and planting to make the most of usable light rather than discovering the problems after the work is done.
It is one of the first things we consider on any project. Aspect influences patio placement, material selection, planting choice, screening positions, lighting requirements and even drainage behaviour. Getting it right at the design stage avoids expensive changes later. Our degree-qualified team assesses aspect, soil, levels and light as part of every garden design and build consultation across Kingston, Surbiton, Richmond and Surrey.
The planner is based on typical UK conditions at approximately 51°N and gives reliable general guidance for most gardens in Kingston, Surbiton, Richmond and surrounding Surrey areas. Real-world conditions are affected by trees, walls, fences, neighbouring buildings, slopes and the exact compass bearing of your plot. For a precise assessment of how light moves through your specific garden, a site visit with our team will always give you a more complete picture.
