Dozens of people showed up to plant 14 claret ashes on Cemetery Dr on Saturday to remember ancestors and family members who had died recently.
The trees were sold, and plaques given, to local families by the Central Otago District Council after the plane trees formerly planted on the street became diseased and were removed earlier this year.
The council parks officer, Nicola Copeland, said the project was part of the council's 10-year effort to "future proof'' the cemetery.
There was a positive response from the community, she said.
"Rather than a sombre occasion, they have come out to celebrate life.''
Allan Jackson, of Alexandra, said he saw an advertisement for the plan in the paper and thought to honour his great-grandparents, Thomas and Eliza Jackson, who moved to the area more than 150 years ago.
"I thought, that's not a silly idea. We could commemorate the oldies.''
It was important to remember them as they were the first in a long family line to come to the area, he said.
They moved to New Zealand from England and married in Dunedin in 1866 before shifting to Alexandra.
They died in the early 1900s and were buried in the Alexandra Cemetery, but their headstone was lost.
Many of their descendants were still in the area, Mr Jackson said.
About 10 family members turned out on Saturday to plant the Jacksons' tree.
The new trees would turn deep red in autumn and eventually grow to a maximum of 10m.
