A cemetery in a mid Norfolk town has been given a dash of colour after wildflowers were planted in an older part of its grounds. 

Dereham Town Council has trialled the planting of wildflowers in a section of a graveyard on Cemetery Road where some of the headstones are over 100 years old. 

Anthony Needham, the council's town clerk, said: "We've been trying to think of ways to increase biodiversity for the town, and this seemed like a good idea.

"The challenge was to find the balance between respecting the area as a cemetery, and creating a habitat for wildlife to thrive."

This is the first year that flowers in the grave yard have been trialled.This is the first year that flowers in the grave yard have been trialled. (Image: Anthony Needham)
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The seeds to plant the wildflowers were collected from Mr Needham's own garden as he knew to use species that would out-compete grass. 

They were then planted near graves that no longer received visitors in areas that would normally be sprayed with herbicide. 

The cemetery is now peppered with colour from red campion, white campion, forget me not, viper-bugloss, poppies, wild geranium, teasle and borage.

The flowers planted range from forget me not to poppies.The flowers planted range from forget me not to poppies. (Image: Anthony Needham)
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"The trial seems to have been well-received and we will be looking to expand this next year. 

"It's nice to find an improvement that doesn’t incur any additional costs or staff time and also has a big impact.

Mr Needham confirmed that any expansion of seed sowing would only take place near the older section of the burial ground.

The council has asked visitors to keep in mind that as the seasons change, the flowers may look less glamorous, but they are not being neglected.The flowers have bloomed well in the summer. (Image: Anthony Needham)
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"I think more people should try it," said Mr Needham.

A post on the Dereham Town Council's Facebook page stated that as the seasons change, the flowers will "start to set and look less pretty". 

"Bear with us over the next few months. We are not neglecting these areas. We are allowing seeds to set so that there will be more wild flowers next year," the post read.