AN event in Penarth later this month will celebrate the centenary of the town's Italian Gardens.

The public facility on Penarth Esplanade was laid out on the site of old boathouses and opened to the public on 31 March 1926 thanks to two forward-thinking women who developed the gardens. 

Constance Maillard; then chairperson of the Penarth Town Council (1924-1925), had the idea. She consulted with Ursula Thompson, the first female gardener to graduate from Kew Gardens.

Constance based her design ideas on gardens she had been restoring in Italy. She then approached Wilfred Evans, designer of a rock gardens in Llanishen, Cardiff, to complete the final design.

The Gardens now are a small, seafront green-space designed to offer tranquil seating area where visitors can look out over the Severn Estuary, surrounded by exotic plants, trees and shrubs.

Volunteers have maintained the gardens over the years.

They are currently maintained by volunteers who carry out weekly, seasonal work to keep them in the best possible order.

The local authority collect bags of weeds from them and some local organisations occasionally give small donations to ensure their maintenance.

One of the volunteers, Michael Payne, says: "We are a not-for-profit organisation striving to maintain and improve a community facility and receive much appreciation from passers-by."

The centenary event on Saturday, 28 March from 11am will include a mayoral planting, a plaque unveiling with music, refreshments provided by Sid's Restaurant, and a raffle.