Welcome to your plot
Hi, and welcome! Before we sow a single seed, I'd like you to do something simple. Go outside and look at your space. That might be a back garden, a yard, a balcony or an allotment.
What do you notice? Is there a corner that's always bright? Is there a patch that never seems to dry out after rain?
Those little things matter a lot. Plants can't move to find light. Your job is to put each plant where the light suits it. So today we'll learn to read your plot like a gardener would.
What is "aspect"?
Aspect is just the direction your garden or plant faces. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) puts it simply: aspect affects how much sun and shade your plants get, and how warm they stay.
Here's the key idea for the UK. South-facing spots get the most light and warmth. North-facing spots get the least. East and west sit in between.
Why? In the UK the sun is always to the south at midday. So whatever faces south gets the strongest light of the day.
Finding your aspect with a compass
So how do you work out which way you face? Grab a compass, or open the compass app on your phone.
If you have a garden or yard, stand with your back to the house and look out into the garden. Hold your phone flat and away from metal things like railings or a car. Whatever direction you're looking is your garden's aspect.
On a balcony, stand with your back to the door and look out. For an allotment, pick its main open side, or simply note where north is on your plot.
Let's try an example. Say you stand at the back door and your compass reads south. Then you have a south-facing garden. Lucky you, that's the sunniest kind! If it reads north, you have a north-facing garden. That's fine too. It just suits different plants.
What each aspect means
Let's walk around the compass.
A south-facing plot gets sun for most of the day. It's bright and warm, so it's great for sun-lovers.
An east-facing plot gets morning sun, then shade in the afternoon. Morning sun is gentler and cooler.
A west-facing plot gets afternoon and evening sun. That's warmer, and lovely for sitting out after work.
A north-facing plot gets the least sun and is often shaded by the house. The RHS points out a bonus, though. North-facing spots stay calmer, without big swings between hot and cold.
Sun, partial shade and full shade
You'll see words like "full sun" on plant labels. So what do they actually mean? Here's how the RHS defines them, measured at midsummer.
- Full sun: more than six hours of direct sun a day.
- Partial shade: three to six hours of direct sun a day.
- Heavy (full) shade: less than two hours of direct sun a day, often under dense trees.
There's also dappled shade, which is light filtered through an open tree canopy. And here's a handy tip. Midday sun gives much more light than morning or evening sun. So three hours at midday counts for more than three hours at dawn.
Your project: make a sun map
Now for the fun part. Let's make a simple sun map.
First, sketch your plot from above on paper. Draw the house, walls, fences, trees and sheds. Then mark north with an arrow.
Next, pick a dry, bright day. Go out at regular times, say 9am, 12 noon, 3pm and 6pm. Each time, shade in the areas that are in shadow. Use a different colour for each visit.
Can't be outside all day? No problem. Take a photo from the same spot each time. The RHS suggests a phone camera can even help you judge light levels, because your eyes adjust to dim light and fool you.
At the end, count the hours each spot was in sun. Then label each area: full sun, partial shade or full shade. And that's your map!
Summer versus winter
Here's something that surprises most beginners. Your sun map changes with the seasons.
In summer the sun climbs high. In London at midday it reaches about 62 degrees above the horizon. In midwinter it only manages about 15 degrees. A low sun throws long shadows. So a fence that casts a short shadow in June can shade half your garden in December.
The sun's path changes too. In midsummer it rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west. That's why even north-facing gardens can catch evening sun in summer. In midwinter it rises in the south-east and sets in the south-west, making a short, low arc.
The RHS notes that in winter even "full sun" can be quite feeble. So it's worth mapping twice. It's October now, so do a map this autumn, then repeat it around June. Since the RHS labels use midsummer as their measure, your June map is the one to match against plant labels.
Your task and how to check it
Here's your task. Find your aspect with a compass. Then make a sun map with at least four time checks on one day.
To check your work, ask yourself three things. Is north marked? Does every area have a label? And do your shadows make sense? Morning shadows should point roughly west, and afternoon shadows roughly east. If they do, well done!
Next time, we'll look at wind, frost and hardiness.
Key takeaways
- Aspect is the direction your plot faces. Stand with your back to the house and use a compass.
- In the UK, south-facing gets the most sun, north-facing the least, east gets mornings and west gets afternoons.
- RHS measures at midsummer: full sun is more than 6 hours, partial shade is 3 to 6 hours, heavy shade is under 2 hours.
- Midday sun counts for more than morning or evening sun.
- Winter sun is low, so shadows are longer. Map your plot in more than one season.