• Shady spots in the yard or garden can be tricky. Elsewhere, it seems, you can find an endless array of plants and flowers to add color and interest, but most of those favorites won't thrive in full shade. If you're looking to create a shade garden, several plant varieties offer yellow flowers or foliage that add a splash of color to the shadowy spots in your yard.
  
  

Hosta

• Gardeners grow hostas primarily for their foliage. An array of cultivars offers foliage in various colors, including yellow or green with yellow patches or markings, as well as various sizes and shapes. Hostas also produce blossoms on tall stalks that can be showy or sweetly scented, some attracting hummingbirds. Although hostas can survive in deep shade, yellow hostas benefit from a few hours of sunlight in the morning, according to the University of Minnesota Extension, which helps to enrich the color of their leaves. Because their large leaves cause them to lose a lot of water through evaporation, hostas require a good amount of water and can show signs of scorch during dry conditions. Hostas return perennially to grace the shady corners of your garden.
  
  

Yellow Star Jasmine

• If you're looking for yellow flowers instead of foliage, yellow star jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) grows well in the shade, spreading to form a dense ground cover peppered with pinwheel-shaped blossoms. The blossoms begin white with a yellow star at the center and become uniformly yellow as they age. Like true jasmine, the yellow star jasmine produces abundant fragrance. The yellow star jasmine thrives in light conditions ranging from deep shade to full sun, although it prefers some light if kept in the shade. It can tolerate both drought and moderate amounts of salt in the soil. Unfortunately, yellow star jasmine is not particularly cold hardy, and Floridata recommends it for zone 8 and above, as winter winds and reduced water availability can quickly dehydrate and kill its evergreen foliage.
  
  

Yellow Epimedium

• For cooler climates, yellow epimedium (Epimedium x perralchicum) also produces bright yellow flowers in the shade. The Michigan State University Extension recommends yellow epimedium for use as a ground cover. Its attractive reddish-colored foliage sets off the bright yellow blossoms, which bloom in the spring. Evergreen foliage enlivens the shade, even after the yellow flowers have faded. Yellow epimedium grows best in light to moderate shade rather than deep shade, according to the North Carolina State University Extension. Although it prefers moist, rich soil, yellow epimedium can tolerate drought conditions and remains cold hardy through zone 5.