My garden faces South west. This is nice as I get the sun in the early morning at the front & in the kitchen.N/E.By 11am it's moved around & shines across the back gardens from the South , then all day until sunset. Sometimes too hot in the middle of the day but lovely as it's setting. I am on sand so requires quite a bit of watering, the compost which I put on regularly doesn't alter this but helps the plants during their growing period. There is a shady area at the bottom end of my garden where I have my ferns. I have herbaceous perennials & fill in gaps each year with different annuals. Hope this is of interest.Something can always be found to suit the different spots.

mine runs east west but as it has plenty of mature trees around the neighbouring gardens it means I don't get that much full sun. so I have lots of shade and there are lots of wonderful plants that cope here.

I would prefer a more aspect in other areas of the garden but I am learning to grow plants to suit what I have got.

Hi Kate, my garden runs East to West, and has sun on the bottom part from early morning, gradually coming right up the garden, by lunchtime the whole back garden is in full sun, while it gradually disappears from the front gardenas the house shades it, I used to get sun right up to sunset, until the fields were sold, and houses were built, which start to shade it around 7pm, as I like to sit outside in the summer, this situation suits me fine, Derek.

My back garden is south facing. The sun starts in the east in the morning and goes down in the west at the end of the day. This gives me maximum light all day. Most of the plants I buy seem to want sunlight. I have a spring, woodland garden on the west side of the house for my shade loving plants.
Along the south wall of the house I have climbers like Roses, Clematis and my beautiful pink Wisteria.
I also have lots of pots for the overspill of my sun loving plants.
I live in Scotland, so the days are very long in the summer which makes up for the weather being not quite so hot. It means the grass doesn't get scorched.
Last year however was very hot but that is when we can water the garden. All that rain comes in handy sometimes.

We have all aspects in this garden. The Drive slopes to the east. That means that the back hedge faces east. The front of the house faces north so the back faces south.

Thank you everyone, sounds like there are a lot of different aspects. Nice to hear how you all garden and how it is interesting to hear individuality.

My little front garden faces east. It has lots of plants you'd think might prefer afternoon sun but they are flourishing. I suppose it depends on how sheltered the site is, and my front garden is very sheltered. It gets rather hot there on summer mornings.

My back garden faces west and gets the afternoon sun, even up until 9. pm in June, but mornings are cold there.
Although very sunny in the afternoons it seems to catch a lot of winds, and many plants don't like that, even though they get a lot of sunshine. Again it depends how sheltered your garden is.

Thank you Hywel, it's great to hear everyone's feedback. All very interesting too!

Here in the desert, we like east-facing gardens, to take the stress off plants like roses, that don't revel in extreme heat. In the winter, the south and west sides of the house are useful for plants like Marigolds (Tagetes), which don't like hot nights, but aren't fond of frost, either. The north side of the house is useful for shade lovers. Of course, any permanent plant more than a few meters away from the house, large shrubs, or a shade tree has to be able to take beaucoup heat in the summer, and a bit of frost in the winter.

I have a garden on all 4 sides. Hydrangeas & Rhododendrons definitely prefer the west garden. Rudbeckias, Cone Flowers, Coreopsis & Gallardia are prairie flowers and like to bake out there in the sun all day. Same for Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed & the Milkweeds. Edibles only in the south garden. Depends which plants we are talking about that determine location. The biggest factor for me is what can survive our long cold & dark winters here in NY? Camilias, Oleander & Gardenias just won't make it.

Always trade offs, Bathgate: Oleanders and Gardenias do fine here, though Camellias are persnickety, but Cherries, Peonies, practically all Maples, and a lot of other northern staples are complete non-starters, here.

As gardeners we get to know what grows best in our gardens and importantly, where in the garden.

Thanks again everyone, it’s so interesting to hear your thoughts and all the feedback, from all over.