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South-facing garden: sun hours by spot and season

A south-facing garden gets sun all year, winter included. In a terraced garden with fences, 6 metres from the house gets at most 8 hours of direct sun on 15 May, and 3 hours on 21 December. Around midday the shadow of the house falls towards the street, not into the garden.

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 March66612
15 May88815
21 June99916,5
21 September66612
21 December3337,5
The worked example. A south-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-facing garden?

At midday the sun stands in the south, right above your garden. The house stands on the north side and does not block it. The fences do: in summer the sun rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west, and the early and late sun does not reach the garden.

So in a south-facing garden the distance from the house makes no difference: 3, 6 and 9 metres out get the same hours of sun. In summer such a garden can get hot, and then you want to make shade.

Sun hours through the year

Jan: Sun, at most 3,5 hours, Daylight 8 hours3,5JanFeb: Sun, at most 4,5 hours, Daylight 10 hours4,5FebMar: Sun, at most 6 hours, Daylight 12 hours6MarApr: Sun, at most 7,5 hours, Daylight 14 hours7,5AprMay: Sun, at most 8,5 hours, Daylight 15,5 hours8,5MayJun: Sun, at most 9 hours, Daylight 16,5 hours9JunJul: Sun, at most 8,5 hours, Daylight 15,5 hours8,5JulAug: Sun, at most 7,5 hours, Daylight 14 hours7,5AugSep: Sun, at most 6 hours, Daylight 12 hours6SepOct: Sun, at most 4,5 hours, Daylight 10 hours4,5OctNov: Sun, at most 3 hours, Daylight 8 hours3NovDec: Sun, at most 3 hours, Daylight 7,5 hours3Dec
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?

A terrace against the back wall has sun all day here. That is pleasant in March and October, but in July it gets hot, also because the wall holds the heat. Draw a parasol, a pergola with a climber, or a tree into your plan, and choose drought-tolerant plants around the terrace.

Plants that suit it

3 to 9 metres from the house, sun: at most 8 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-facing garden

Do I need shade in a south-facing garden?

For yourself, often yes, in summer. For plants it depends on what you choose: plants that want sun do well here. Plants that want shade go in the shadow of a tree, a pergola or a shed.

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