In the car or on foot, I can get lost effortlessly unless I'm very familiar with where I am. Expressed as a percentage, this is the number we print above the packing date on Southern Exposure … © 2020 Condé Nast. On June 21st, at the same time of the day, it is higher in the sky. Southern Exposure Face the long, front side of the home within 20 degrees either side of true south. They use light energy to build sugar out of carbon dioxide and water. The point is, properly evaluating the light in your landscape is one of the most important things we do to ensure success with our plants. North facing sun exposure. And knowing the compass directions of your property can help greatly. Of course, some like to control the sun, in which case there are many blackout options available, even programmable," she says. Soil, drainage and climate are, of course, important to plant health. “Morning light may be delicate in a space—as long as it’s not shining into a bedroom,” says designer Elena Frampton of Frampton Co. Everyone knows what it’s like to have their precious extra sleep time thwarted by beams of light puncturing cheap wooden blinds—which will be the case if you have a bedroom that faces east (where, as you know, the sun rises). A Manhattan apartment by Michael S. Smith featuring both northern and southern exposures.
To evaluate light conditions, you should spend at least one day walking around all parts of your landscape noting what kind of light each area receives (how many hours of direct sun and when they occur). Part shade: Receives about four hours of morning sun.
To make this information work, however, you need to know: what does part shade mean, and where in my yard does part shade occur. “If you have strong, solid light throughout the day, I’m more inclined to use a bolder color palette,” he says. If a plant does not receive enough light, it cannot make enough food.
Figure out how much sun you get in the sunniest part of your garden and in the shadiest part.
Ad Choices, And how to soften the harsh light from certain orientations. Though it is always a positive, not all views are created equal—not in terms of what’s outside the window, but rather which direction the window faces.
North-facing views provide lighting that is consistent throughout the day, never too harsh or too dull.
I can always find my way around my yard, though.
I have a terrible sense of direction. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. The sugar molecules created by photosynthesis store the energy of light (generally from the sun) in their molecular bonds. Shade: Receives about 2 hours of direct sun in the morning or bright dappled light through the day.
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. How many solar cells would I need in order to provide all of the electricity that my house needs? But, here's the rub.
Southern Exposure. Unfortunately, you can't simply go out and evaluate the light conditions in different parts of your yard just before you head to the nursery. Southern-hemisphere designers would probably feel the opposite [from those in the Northern hemisphere].” So keep in mind, these maxims will not apply to your veranda in the Maldives. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. The movement of the sun interacting with various structures (such as your home), trees, walls and larger shrubs creates light conditions that may vary through the day. Southern exposure? So, evaluating the light is an ongoing process of observation over time. Get started by recording how much sunlight your yard receives over time. Southern exposure is important in the city, and also in any house that wants to take advantage of solar energy-- if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun comes from the south.
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for information on the tilt).
Part sun: Receives about four to six hours of afternoon sun. The sun moves, but houses stay put. It's that critical. How much should you save before buying a house? Of course, the yard's not that big, and I work in it all the time.
Natural light exposure within a home is all about perspective.
Dan Gill is a horticulturist with the LSU AgCenter. But the sun occurs in the more stressful heat of the afternoon. As a result, it will be constantly hungry and not grow as well as it should. Knowing the compass directions is important in understanding these changes. If you can't, you need find a compass and go outside. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. Eastern exposure in a bedroom can be softened with strategic window treatments—roller shades being a must, as in this Houston guest room by Bruce Budd. Weird & Wacky, Copyright © 2020 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. The eastern exposure receives several hours of direct sun in the cooler morning hours and provides part shade. The bold peacock blue of this Bachman Brown-designed living room holds its own against the strong natural light pouring through.
If there is a Miss Congeniality award, it would probably go to northern exposure. The western exposure is part sun. (Photo from Chris Granger, NOLA.com| The Times-Picayune archive). Keep in mind that in spring, bare-branched trees may give the illusion of sunny spots beneath, but once they leaf out, they often create heavy shade during summer and into fall.
The northern exposure is shade. To complicate matters, the sun moves differently in the different seasons, and light conditions may change.
I'll bet you don't have any problems finding your way around your landscape either. Here's what you should know about various directional exposures so you can orient a new house the right way on a lot, or deal with the windows you've already been dealt. Light conditions also can change slowly but significantly as young shade trees grow large and mature -- or change suddenly when mature trees are lost to storms. Follow his stories at www.nola.com/homegarden, on Facebook and @nolahomegardenon Instagram. Let’s take a closer look at this technique for optimal sun exposure.
Northern exposure?
This happens because the Earth is a sphere and spins on an axis that is tilted 23 degrees (see "What Causes the Seasons?"
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Then we will see how the compass directions influence where different light conditions occur in the landscape.
You can read up on a plant and find that it's best grown in part shade. Being aware of the compass directions isn't needed to find your way around your yard. Here are some good working definitions of the terms we commonly use to denote light conditions in our landscapes: Full sun: Indicates locations that receive eight hours or more of direct sun daily. I'm often amazed how well most people get around. In these circumstances Designer Bachman Brown Clem gravitates towards hues …
But highly personalized window treatments can mitigate the intensity: “Some clients love to wake up with the sun, in which case we’d match them with a high-transparency roller shade and decorative drapery. Because the sun always crosses the sky south of directly overhead, the southern exposure gets sun most of the day and is considered full sun. In most yards, the light patterns change dramatically throughout the day. Our website, archdigest.com, offers constant original coverage of the interior design and architecture worlds, new shops and products, travel destinations, art and cultural events, celebrity style, and high-end real estate as well as access to print features and images from the AD archives. The idea of a germination test is to take a random sample of seeds from your lot or package, put them in the conditions that make them most likely to germinate, and see how many develop into healthy sprouts.
As a gardener, you must understand a fundamental principle of plant life.
In these circumstances Designer Bachman Brown Clem gravitates towards hues that are just as intense.
Frampton Co., for example, set up its office in a northern-facing room. Designers tend to agree: Southern exposure is harsh. Assess light patterns every hour or two throughout the course of a day, noting where shadows fall and for how long. The western exposure, like the eastern exposure, receives several hours of direct sun. How to Calculate the Sun Exposure in a Yard. I mean the compass directions. Next, you will need to determine the growing conditions for your garden.
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Email questions to dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu or add them to the comment section below.
This sugar is used, along with tiny amounts of minerals absorbed from the soil (such as nitrogen and calcium), to power the biological processes and build the body of the plant.
To know where those various light conditions occur in your landscape, it helps to know the compass directions.
Because of the sun's position in the southern sky, shadows are cast to the north. Each exposure has its own distinct temperament, and as with all strong personalities, it’s better to work with them than against. “Generally north light is calming," Frampton explains.
You can start to understand sun exposure by figuring out which direction your growing area faces. First, let's look at what part shade means. Like top-of-the-line appliances and perfectly patinaed hardwood floors, natural light is in that echelon of amenities that make even the most jaded homeowner swoon. But nothing else matters if you don't get the plant's light requirements right. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
But, it has everything to do with providing the right light for our plants. And the great thing is -- thankfully -- you don't have to have a good since of direction to do it.
But do you know your directions?
A cool-tone kitchen—like this one by Frampton Co.—would buffer warmer tones that will filter in from western exposure.
How compass directions can improve your plants' health, Dan Gill, The Times-Picayune garden columnist. There, my sense of direction never fails. Not all plants are created equal when it comes to their sunlight requirements.
California-based designer Kelly Hinchman loves working with Western light in her clients’ homes, but is quick to warn, “The afternoon sun will flood the room with golden overtones… I would stay away from oranges and reds in the west [or] your home will be on fire!”.