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susanne27

Buying a house just for the gardening

Susanne27
10 years ago

We may be moving this year and I of course want to garden at my new place. We will be moving into town to a much smaller space. Since I am in a cold climate I assume that if I have only one side of a house to garden, it should be south facing. If I can't find a property to fit, would a west facing garden work as well? I find myself looking at houses with emphasis on the outside rather than inside. Insane, I know. Although I love just about every aspect of gardening, I enjoy the most, roses and drought proof perennials and if I am to be limited, would choose these.

Comments (16)

  • NewGirlinNorCal
    10 years ago

    Not insane! Totally reasonable. I think I picked my house as much for my atrium as for anything else.

  • eibren
    10 years ago

    Sometimes you can find a larger yard space where utility lines have a right of way over the back of the property.

    In your climate south facing for the area where you intend to plant is best, and if it is in your back yard then you also get the protection of your house from cold winter winds, instead of wind blowing across the street.

  • growing_rene2
    10 years ago

    Have fun! I picked my house because of the courtyard and all of the possibilities surrounding it. It is very reasonable to look for a home with qualities you want!

  • seil zone 6b MI
    10 years ago

    Oh course you want a house you can garden at! It's something you love and should be a major consideration in house shopping.

    My patio covers most of the south side of my house so all of my major beds are on the west side of the house. I have half my roses planted on the west side and they do very well. I also have many spring bulbs, perennials and annuals there as well. They are exposed to the prevailing winds quite a bit but they seem to do fine. Usually the north side for us northerners is mostly shade so you don't want that unless your into hostas, lol.

  • wirosarian_z4b_WI
    10 years ago

    Many rose people like a rose garden with an east exposure, i.e. morning sun, afternoon shade. Morning sun burns the evening dew off quickly which is good for disease control, & afternoon shade keeps the hot afternoon sun from burning the color out of your blooms. I also moved several years ago & I intentionally looked for a smaller city lot, found one with 1/4 acre. Why?....because you will find that your garden will expand to fit the amount of land you have & a smaller lot keeps my garden expansion in check. And yes, I also bought my house partially because of what I visualized for a garden.

  • kidhorn
    10 years ago

    I agree with what wirosarian said about east vs west. East is better than west.

  • catsrose
    10 years ago

    Another yes for east facing. And I too bought my house as much for the garden as the house. I was drawn to the house in listings and when I arrived a saw it had my favorite trees (mine is a larger property), a blue atlas cedar, a corkscrew willow, several oaks, and two old apples (I am nostalgic about old apple trees). I said yes before we even opened the front door.

  • alameda/zone 8/East Texas
    10 years ago

    I did the same thing. I had passed by my property for years and thought what a beautiful place it would be, perfect for my horse farm. When it came up for sale, I made an appointment to look, not in the market for another home at the time. The minute I walked in the door from the garage into the kitchen, I knew what the whole house looked like. Have been here 20 years this coming July and am still as much in love with it as ever. The house had been waiting for me. Now am still adding rare roses, tweaking the flower beds, working on an island bed around a small pond - had envisioned the large front yard with wisteria, bridal wreath - and its now a reality. This is my forever home as long as I live. Good luck with your search! Pick the right home and your soul will be content!

    Judith

  • the_morden_man
    10 years ago

    Susanne,

    Here in Ontario where we don't have the intensity of sun and heat like some who have commented here might experience, you really can't go wrong with a south facing home.

    Depending on the outlay of the property and shade from trees and other homes, you will basically be able to grow roses and a nice variety of other plants and perennials most everywhere you choose on your property as you will still have east and west facing beds and a shadier northern area.

    My own home is south facing and I have rose and garden beds throughout. You just need to understand how much sun hits the various areas of the yard througout the season and plan the plantings appropriately.

    I can also totally understand planning on buying a home that at minimum, takes into account a hobby or passion. Life is short, we all should do what makes us most happy.

  • subk3
    10 years ago

    A house square on the compass is one that the sides solidly face South, West, East or North. When I built my home I sited it Southwest or 45 degrees off the compass. This means that all four sides of my house and the gardens on those sides will get sun at some point in the day most of the year. There is no deep dark North side were nothing wants to grow.

    Another advantage is that every window in my home will get sunshine through it at some point in the day. The light inside is very natural and nice, generally coming in at an angle. I have lived in a home that faced directly West with harsh afternoon sun frying it every day and this is a big improvement!

  • toolbelt68
    10 years ago

    If you find the yards of your new house is too small for roses then consider wild flowers. They last all summer and reseed themselves come fall. All you have to do is mow down the dead stuff, clean up what is left, and shazam, you're ready for next year.

  • msjam2
    10 years ago

    I chose my house because it already had beautiful raised stone bed in the front yard as well as around the pool in the back yard. It also faces north.

    My house has a ton of windows and is very bright, I could potentially put a lot of houseplants in but houseplants don't like me at all. I kill them, all.the.time.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    10 years ago

    Lol, same here, msjam! If you have a house plant you want to get rid of, give it to me, I'll kill!

  • peachymomo
    10 years ago

    I think it's very reasonable to buy a house for the yard, in the long run I think it's easier to change the inside to fit your needs than the outside. You can always renovate an ugly kitchen, but you can't add a garden if you don't have the space. I definitely chose my property more for the outside than the inside, it wasn't easy to find a smaller house on a larger lot and when we saw the two two-hundred year old oaks in the back we knew this was the place.

  • Susanne27
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I really appreciate the responses and see that I am not alone in making my garden a priority. Subk3, I am very fortunate to have my home right now on the angle you mention. It is a century home and I don't know if it was put on this angle on purpose or not but like you mention, there is no really deep dark north side to the house. Thanks for the encouragement folks. I see that I will be able to grow roses probably on any property as long as there is room.

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    9 years ago

    We started out looking for land on which to plant. Moved from a small cramped HOA run golf community to acreage!

    You might change your mind as you go. It got so we wouldn't even look at anything less than an acre. We went from a mandatory one story to a two story (keep us in shape in retirement). Then we went from flat land to an extreme rocky slope on a hillside with amazing views.

    We have many windows, but none facing south. Not much grows on our north side because a two story home casts lots of shade.

    There is plenty of room in full sun to plant on this property, and we are tackling a huge job, but it's a lot of fun! We have planted about 7 varieties of roses, and when we pruned, we put cuttings in the ground, and two have peeked up today. Those roses will be planted at the ends of our small vineyard.

    Your zone limits what you can plant, but I wish you luck in finding the perfect home with plenty of room to garden.

    Suzi

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