Future generations will still be able to enjoy an avenue of cherry trees at Inveraray Castle, thanks to a replanting scheme.
His Grace the Duke of Argyll and his son Archie, the Marquis of Lorne, helped to replace the trees.
The original avenue of 18 trees was planted more than 50 years ago; the cherry is a short-lived tree.
Head gardener Glyn Toplis said: ‘Over a number of years we have done some work on the trees, but they have not been flowering particularly well. We were finding infection and it was clear they were coming to the end of their life.’
He added: ‘An oak can live for hundreds of years but if you have a cherry tree that has reached 60 to 70 years old then it is doing really well, especially in Argyll where the climate is quite wet.’
A team effort saw the removal and replanting of the avenue with the Prunus Kanzan variety.
Glyn was joined by Peter McArthur, a retired groundsman who worked on the estate for 50 years with Heather Forrester and Marcus Van Stone.
The trees will flower next spring but Glyn added: ‘It will take them about five or six years to come into their own.’
And Inveraray Castle will have another half century of cherry blossom to look forward to each springtime.