# Small garden design in Amsterdam: five mistakes

> Five mistakes in a small Amsterdam city garden, with two real plots in De Pijp as the example: buildings of 15 to 18 metres and their shadow on 15 May.

Canonical: https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/small-garden-design-amsterdam
Last updated: 2026-09-24

![A small walled Amsterdam city garden through open garden doors: herringbone clay pavers, box balls, white hydrangeas, a multi-stemmed tree and a bench](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/kleine-stadstuin-amsterdam-04aeaa08.webp)

Published: 2026-09-14

Small garden design in Amsterdam starts with the height of the buildings, not
with the compass. On the even-numbered side of Van Ostadestraat in De Pijp,
five buildings are 15.3 to 15.5 metres high according to 3DBAG. In mid-May their
midday shadow is about 10 metres long, against about 4 metres for a 6-metre
terraced house.

A compass does not show that difference. The five mistakes below use two real
plots on Van Ostadestraat as the example. The heights come from 3DBAG, the open
dataset of measured building heights for the Netherlands, and the plot sizes
from the cadastral map on PDOK. Every shadow length here is for 15 May
around midday, the reference day of
[the garden sun hours calculator](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-sun-hours-calculator).

## What are the common mistakes in a small Amsterdam garden?

All five start from an average garden instead of your plot. The table puts
each mistake next to the measurement that disproves it, and next to what to do
instead.

| Mistake                                   | Measured on                                                                    | What to do instead                                       |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Looking only at which way it faces        | Garden facing south-south-east, city block to the south of 15.4 to 17.5 metres | Look up the height of the block to the south             |
| Writing off a north-facing garden         | Garden facing north-north-west, buildings of 16.6 to 17.9 metres               | Keep shadow length and sun hours apart                   |
| Forgetting the property line              | Worked example with terraced houses 5.5 metres wide                            | Count the fence as something that casts shade            |
| Treating a city block as a terraced house | Buildings of 15.3 to 15.5 metres against 6 metres                              | Take the height from 3DBAG                               |
| Choosing a tree on its height alone       | Juneberry with a crown of 4 metres                                             | Set the crown against the width of the garden            |

The two plots lie on opposite sides of the same street. The plot on the
even-numbered side is 128 square metres. It is about 5 metres wide and 25
metres deep, including the building. The garden lies behind the house, facing
south-south-east.

The plot on the odd-numbered side measures 189 square metres. It is about 6.6
to 6.9 metres wide and 31 metres deep. There the garden faces north-north-west.
So one street holds two back gardens with the sun on opposite sides.

## Mistake 1: looking only at which way the garden faces

In an Amsterdam city block, a south-facing garden is no guarantee of light. The
garden on the even-numbered side faces south-south-east. Its own building
stands on the north side, so its midday shadow falls away from the garden.

What can cast shade into that garden stands on the south side. The block there
holds buildings from 1903 and 1904. They are about 15.4 to 17.5 metres high,
measured from the ground to the highest point of the roof.

In mid-May, around solar noon at 13.36, the sun stands 56.6 degrees above
Amsterdam. A 15.4-metre building then casts a shadow of about 10 metres. At
17.5 metres it is about 11.5 metres. That shadow points north, towards your
side.

Whether that line reaches your garden depends on the distance to those rear
walls, which no compass tells you. And the length at midday still says nothing
about the sun hours of a spot, because the shadow swings round for the rest of
the day.

Tuinontwerp.app places those blocks, with their height from 3DBAG, to scale
around your plot as soon as you enter your address. On that plan you see how
far their shadow reaches into your garden, and the app works out how much sun
each spot keeps.

## Mistake 2: writing off a north-facing garden

The length of the midday shadow and the number of sun hours are two different
things. On the odd-numbered side of the street the garden faces
north-north-west. The buildings there are 16.6 to 17.9 metres high. In mid-May
their midday shadow is about 11 to 12 metres long.

![Narrow city garden north of a tall brick block, seen from the far end of the garden. The shadow of the block covers the terrace and the first half of the lawn, the front part lies in the sun.](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/kleine-stadstuin-amsterdam-1-43279d71.webp)
*Around midday the shadow of a tall block falls straight into the garden. For the rest of the day that shadow swings round with the sun.*

It is tempting to conclude that those first twelve metres stay dark all day,
but that uses the wrong number. In mid-May the sun rises over Amsterdam in the
north-east, on a compass bearing of 57 degrees. It sets on a bearing of 304
degrees, in the north-west. Only around midday does the shadow of the house
point straight into the garden. Before and after that it falls at a slant.

A bare worked example shows how much that matters, with nothing but a detached
house six metres high. A point one metre behind that house still gets about
7.3 hours of sun there.
[The garden sun hours calculator](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-sun-hours-calculator)
explains that example.

A garden in De Pijp is not a bare worked example. It has neighbours on both
sides, fences and buildings up to 17.9 metres high. Those slanting hours can
still disappear there. The figure for a spot only follows from everything
around it.

## Mistake 3: forgetting the property line in a garden five metres wide

In a narrow strip the fence can block more sun than the house. That is why the
app always models the property line as a 1.8-metre wall, even before you have
drawn anything.

The effect was calculated for seven terraced houses side by side. Each house is
5.5 metres wide, 8 metres deep and 6 metres high. The garden of the middle house
faces north and the plot is 20 metres deep.

| Point behind the middle house, 15 May | Buildings only | With the property line |
| ------------------------------------- | -------------- | ---------------------- |
| 1 metre behind the house              | about 6.5 h    | 0.0 h                  |
| 3 metres behind the house             | about 9.5 h    | about 2.0 h            |

With the buildings alone, the point at one metre sits just above six hours.
With the property line added it comes out at 0.0 hours. There, it is the side
fences that block the low sun from the north-east and the north-west.

The plot on the even-numbered side of Van Ostadestraat is narrower than that
row, at about 5 metres, and its buildings are more than twice as tall. So these
figures are not a forecast for that garden. They show which source of shade
you must not leave out when you design a city garden yourself.

If a spot stays under three hours, it needs a plant for shade. Japanese forest
grass, Hakonechloa macra, is in the app's plant list as a species for partial
shade and shade.

## Mistake 4: treating a city block as a terraced house

A building from 1901 in De Pijp is not a terraced house with an attic on top.
The five buildings from 1901 on the even-numbered side are more than twice as
tall as a 6-metre terraced house. Their midday shadow reaches two and a half
times as far.

If you sketch an Amsterdam back garden to the sizes of a new housing estate,
the shadow you draw comes out too short.

You do not have to guess that height. For each building, 3DBAG gives the
height of the roof and the height of the ground around it. Both are measured
from NAP, the Dutch reference level for heights. The difference is the height
that casts shade. The dataset comes from the 3D geoinformation research group
and 3DGI, under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Do not use storeys as a measuring stick. 3DBAG only estimates the number of
storeys up to five, so a taller building does not show up as taller there. The
roof height in metres is the figure that counts.

## Mistake 5: choosing a tree on its height alone

In a garden five metres wide, the crown of a tree counts for more than its
height. The juneberry, Amelanchier lamarckii, is in the app's plant list with a
mature height of 5 metres and a crown 4 metres across. Behind the house on the
even-numbered side of the street, that crown fills about four fifths of the
width.

A tree like that also casts its own shade in the design. A placed plant casts
crown shade in the months it is in leaf, and the juneberry is in leaf in May.
The app lists it for full sun and partial shade. So draw it in before you
choose the border beneath it.

The buildings from 3DBAG and the property line cast shade in the calculation.
Neighbours' trees and hedges, trees in the middle of the block and sheds too
small for the BAG do not. That makes the sun hours figure an upper bound: at
most that much sun. You see for yourself in the garden which crowns hang over
your fence.
[How to measure sunlight in your garden](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/measure-sunlight-garden)
shows how to count it. This post is filed under
[Inspiration](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/category/inspiratie).

## How do you start from your own plot?

The measurements on Van Ostadestraat come from public sources: the cadastral
map, 3DBAG and the position of the sun. They are available for every Amsterdam
address.

You start at the address field at the bottom of this page. Tuinontwerp.app
draws your plot to scale with the buildings from 3DBAG around it, and you place
your terrace, borders and plants on it. Each plant is drawn at a grown plant's width,
so you see at once whether a juneberry fits your strip. Each plant also shows
the most sun its spot can get, with the property line counted. Designing on
your own plot is free. That way you start from your strip, five or nearly seven
metres wide, and not from an average garden.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much sun does a small garden in Amsterdam get?

That differs per spot. Tuinontwerp.app draws your plot to scale, with the building heights in 3DBAG around it and a property line of 1.8 metres, and shows the most sun each spot can get. Neighbours' trees and differences in ground level are not included, so the figure is a maximum. Check those trees in the garden yourself, with the app's sun hours beside you.

### How long is the shadow of a 15-metre building in Amsterdam?

About 10 metres, around solar noon on 15 May. At that moment the sun stands 56.6 degrees above Amsterdam, according to timeanddate.com. That length says nothing about the sun hours of a spot, because for the rest of the day the shadow swings round.

### Is a north-facing garden in an Amsterdam city block always dark?

Not by definition. On 15 May the sun rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west, so only around midday does the shadow of the house fall straight back. In a narrow garden the fences often block those slanting hours: in a worked example with terraced houses 5.5 metres wide, a spot one metre behind the house keeps 0.0 hours.

### Where can I find the height of the buildings around my garden?

In 3DBAG, an open dataset published under CC BY 4.0. For each building it gives the height of the roof and of the ground level, and the difference is the height that casts shade. Tuinontwerp.app places those buildings around your plot as soon as you enter your address. Loading your plot and drawing on it costs nothing.

## Sources

- [3DBAG (3D geoinformation-onderzoeksgroep en 3DGI, CC BY 4.0), documentatie](https://docs.3dbag.nl/en/)
- [3DBAG, beschrijving van de attributen](https://docs.3dbag.nl/en/schema/attributes/)
- [PDOK, Kadastrale kaart](https://www.pdok.nl/introductie/-/article/kadastrale-kaart)
- [timeanddate.com, zonsopkomst, zonsondergang en zonnestand Amsterdam, mei 2026](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/netherlands/amsterdam?month=5&year=2026)

## Read next

- [A garden sun hours calculator that starts from your address](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-sun-hours-calculator) - How many hours of direct sun does each spot in your garden get? Tuinontwerp.app draws your plot to scale with 3DBAG building heights and works out the most sun each spot gets on 15 May. (2026-09-06)
- [Wood meadow grass: where it grows, planting and care](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/wood-meadow-grass) - Wood meadow grass (Poa nemoralis): a native grass 30 to 90 cm tall for partial shade, with airy panicles from June to September. How to spot, plant and fix it. (2026-09-28)
- [Measure sunlight in your garden: count sun hours per spot](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/measure-sunlight-garden) - Measure sunlight in your garden on a clear day in mid-May: one stake per spot, a tally mark every hour. More than six marks is full sun, under three is shade. (2026-08-01)
- [More about inspiration](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/category/inspiratie)