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The first thing experienced gardeners ask new balcony growers isn’t what plants they like – it’s which way the balcony faces. Direction determines everything: how many hours of sun the space gets, when in the day that sun arrives, how hot the plants will be in summer, and what’s even possible to grow. Get this wrong and you spend a season fighting your space.
Figuring it out takes about two minutes.
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The 60-second method
- Open the compass app on your phone (every smartphone has one preinstalled).
- Stand on your balcony.
- Point the top of the phone outward – away from the building, toward the open sky.
- Read the direction the compass shows. That’s the direction your balcony faces.
If the compass reads “S 180°,” your balcony is south-facing. “W 270°” means west. “NE 45°” means northeast. The compass tells you the direction the front of the balcony points – which is the direction sun reaches from when it’s directly in front of you.
What each direction actually means
Throughout this guide I’m assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere (most readers are). In the southern hemisphere, swap south and north.
South-facing
The most sun-loaded balcony you can have. Sun streams in from late morning through mid-afternoon in summer. In winter, when the sun sits lower in the sky, a south-facing balcony gets sun nearly all day long.
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Hours of direct sun: 6-10+ in summer, often more in winter.
What grows here: tomatoes, peppers, basil, rosemary, lavender, succulents, sunflowers, anything that wants full sun. Many vegetables thrive only on south-facing balconies.
The catch: can get genuinely hot. In summer, a south-facing balcony in a heat-trapping city can hit 100°F (38°C) by midday. Plants dry out fast, leaves can scorch, and you’ll need to water often (sometimes daily) and possibly shade tender plants during heatwaves.
West-facing
Gets little morning sun, then increasingly strong sun from noon through evening. The sun is also at its strongest intensity by afternoon, so a west balcony in midsummer can be brutal.
Hours of direct sun: 5-7+ in summer.
What grows here: most of what grows on south-facing, but slightly less reliably for very heat-sensitive plants. Tomatoes, peppers, basil, herbs of all kinds, sun-loving flowers.
The catch: the afternoon sun can be harsher than morning sun. Some plants (lettuce, spinach) prefer the cooler conditions of an east-facing balcony.
East-facing
Soft morning sun from sunrise to roughly noon, then bright indirect light or shade for the rest of the day. Many gardeners consider this the sweet spot – enough light for most plants, gentle enough that they don’t dry out as fast.
Hours of direct sun: 3-6 in summer.
What grows here: almost everything that doesn’t strictly need full sun. Lettuce and salad greens, basil (with care), parsley, chives, peace lilies, ferns, most flowering annuals, strawberries.
The catch: not enough light for sun-demanding fruit crops like tomatoes and peppers. They’ll grow but won’t produce as much.
North-facing
Little to no direct sunlight. Bright indirect light during the day; shade for much of it. Often dismissed as a “dead balcony,” but a perfectly viable garden is possible – just with a different palette.
Hours of direct sun: 0-2 in summer, often none.
What grows here: mint, parsley, ferns, hostas, impatiens, begonias, ivy, coleus, heuchera, peace lilies. Anything labelled “shade tolerant” is your friend here.
The catch: no fruiting vegetables, no sun-loving herbs like rosemary, no flowering plants that need full sun. Lower productivity overall.
Between directions
Many balconies face “northwest” or “southeast” – somewhere between two cardinal directions. The rough rule:
- Northeast: more like east, but cooler. A few hours of morning sun, mild conditions.
- Southeast: long stretches of morning to early-afternoon sun. Excellent for most plants.
- Southwest: long stretches of afternoon sun. Same plants as west, often slightly hotter.
- Northwest: mostly shaded with a few hours of evening sun. Treat like north-facing.
Hours of sun summary
| Direction | Sun hours (summer) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| South | 6-10+ | Vegetables, sun herbs, fruit crops |
| Southwest | 5-8 | Same as south, slightly hotter |
| West | 5-7+ | Most vegetables and herbs |
| Northwest | 2-4 | Shade-tolerant plants, evening-sun varieties |
| North | 0-2 | Ferns, mint, parsley, shade flowers |
| Northeast | 3-5 (morning) | Lettuce, parsley, shade-tolerant flowers |
| East | 3-6 (morning) | Most herbs, leafy greens, soft flowers |
| Southeast | 5-7+ | Wide range; gentler than south |
The catches the compass doesn’t show
Direction is the first variable, but a few others can override it:
- Buildings opposite your balcony. A tall building across the street can shade an otherwise-sunny balcony for hours every day. Watch the actual sun pattern.
- Trees. A leafy tree directly in front of your balcony filters sun heavily in summer and lightly in winter.
- Overhangs and balcony depth. A deep balcony with a big overhang above gets less direct sun than the compass implies, especially on lower floors.
- Latitude. A south-facing balcony in northern Scotland in winter gets sun for very few hours. The same balcony in southern Spain gets long sun even in January.
- Reflections from glass towers. Modern glass buildings can bounce sun back at unexpected angles, lengthening effective sun hours.
Now match plants to your direction
Once you know your direction (and have verified with a real sun audit), our best plants for a small balcony guide has plant lists organized by these exact conditions. The balcony garden setup guide covers everything else – pots, wind, watering, weight limits.
If your balcony is north-facing, you still have options
A common reaction to discovering a north-facing balcony is despair. Don’t. A north-facing balcony has its own advantages:
- Plants dry out far less quickly, so you water less and travel more easily.
- Foliage stays lush and green – shade plants like ferns and hostas look incredible.
- Summer heat is much less of an issue.
- You can still grow useful herbs (mint, parsley) and beautiful flowers (impatiens, begonias).
It just means your garden palette is different – more “lush green and white flowers” than “tomatoes and chillies.” Some of the most beautiful container gardens you’ll ever see are north-facing.
Special cases
Corner balconies
If your balcony wraps around a corner, you may effectively have two directions. The longer side determines most of your conditions, but you can put sun-loving plants on the brighter section and shade plants on the other.
Top-floor / penthouse balconies
Often have unobstructed sun on all sides plus serious wind. Sun-wise this is paradise; wind-wise it’s brutal. Plan for wind regardless of direction.
Indoor “balcony” (sunroom or enclosed)
If your “balcony” is glass-enclosed, treat it like an extra-bright indoor space. Plants don’t get wind, get warmer temperatures, and often get filtered sun rather than direct. Plants will grow well but on different terms.
The short version
Direction is the cheapest, most useful single piece of information about your balcony. It takes 60 seconds to figure out. It saves you from buying the wrong plants and explains a year of mysterious deaths if you’ve ever struggled.
Once you know which direction you have, the planting decisions get easier. South-facing? Sun-lovers and watering vigilance. North-facing? Lush shade plants and less work. Everything in between is its own sweet spot.
Next steps: figure out your real sun hours with our sunlight guide, then pick plants from best plants for a small balcony.
