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South-east-facing garden: sun hours by spot and season

A south-east-facing garden gets sun from the morning into the afternoon. On 15 May, 6 metres from the house gets at most 9 hours of direct sun, and on 21 December still 1,5 hours. The evening sun falls behind the house.

Sun hours by distance from the house

At most this many hours of direct sun on the ground, 3, 6 and 9 metres from the back wall. Daylight is the number of hours the sun is up that day.
Day3 m6 m9 mDaylight
21 March6,56,56,512
15 May899,515
21 June8,59,51016,5
21 September6,56,56,512
21 December1,51,51,57,5
The worked example. A south-east-facing garden, 6 metres wide, behind a row of houses 6 metres high. A 1.8 metre fence stands on either side, as between most terraced gardens. No tree, shed or house stands behind the garden. Those can only take sun away, so a real garden facing this way gets at most as much sun as this one.

Where does the sun fall in a south-east-facing garden?

The sun rises in the east and is in front of your garden early. It moves via the south to the west, and during the afternoon it disappears behind the house or behind the neighbours' fence. So you get a lot of sun, but not the sun of the early evening.

In March and September the distance from the house makes no difference: 3, 6 and 9 metres out all get at most 6,5 hours of sun. The fences decide how much sun falls then, not the house. In May and June it is sunnier further from the house, up to at most 10 hours 9 metres out.

Sun hours through the year

Jan: Sun, at most 3 hours, Daylight 8 hours3JanFeb: Sun, at most 4,5 hours, Daylight 10 hours4,5FebMar: Sun, at most 6,5 hours, Daylight 12 hours6,5MarApr: Sun, at most 8,5 hours, Daylight 14 hours8,5AprMay: Sun, at most 9 hours, Daylight 15,5 hours9MayJun: Sun, at most 9,5 hours, Daylight 16,5 hours9,5JunJul: Sun, at most 9 hours, Daylight 15,5 hours9JulAug: Sun, at most 8,5 hours, Daylight 14 hours8,5AugSep: Sun, at most 6,5 hours, Daylight 12 hours6,5SepOct: Sun, at most 4,5 hours, Daylight 10 hours4,5OctNov: Sun, at most 3 hours, Daylight 8 hours3NovDec: Sun, at most 1,5 hours, Daylight 7,5 hours1,5Dec
At most this many hours of direct sun on the 21st of each month, 6 metres from the house. The light bar is the daylight of that day.

Where should the terrace go?

The terrace can go against the house here. You get sun at breakfast and lunch, and shade at the end of the day. In summer that is a pleasant split: the hottest hours of the day come after midday, when the sun is behind the house.

Plants that suit it

3 to 9 metres from the house, sun: at most 8–9,5 h of sun on 15 May

From the design app's plant list, chosen by the spot each plant likes best. The app judges every plant on 15 May, a day when every deciduous tree is in leaf.

How was this worked out?

The position of the sun comes from the same calculation the design app uses, at 52 degrees north, near Utrecht. Every ten minutes it checks whether the sun can reach the spot, past the house and over the fences. Clouds do not count: these are the hours the sun can reach the spot.

How much sun does your garden get?

Your garden is wider or deeper, and your house is taller or lower. The sun hours calculator works from your own plot in the land registry and the real height of your house and the houses around it.

Work out your garden's sun hours

Questions about a south-east-facing garden

Which is better, a south-east-facing or a south-west-facing garden?

They get about the same number of hours of sun, at a different time. A south-east-facing garden has the sun in the morning and early afternoon, a south-west-facing garden in the afternoon and evening. Choose by the time you sit outside.

How do I tell which way my garden faces?

Stand with your back against the back wall of the house and look into the garden. If the compass on your phone points south, you have a south-facing garden. If it falls between two directions, take the nearest one, or work out your own address with the sun hours calculator.

Other directions