THE green-fingered Duchess of Northumberland gave a talk at the weekend to boost the funds of the Marlborough Riverbank theatre/cinema project.

The duchess spoke about her work in creating gardens at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.

Together with the director of the Alnwick gardens, Ian August, the duchess presented a slide show and talked about the layout and landscaping of the new gardens, which she described as "a garden for the community".

The gardens, which have featured on TV horticultural programmes, include a number of high-tech water features and an enormous tree house.

The duchess spoke following a lunch held in a marquee in the gardens of Applegarth at Ogbourne St George, the home of Oliver and Barbara Clauson.

The marquee was put up for a party the previous day to celebrate Mr and Mrs Clauson's golden wedding anniversary.

The duchess was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Rosie Hill, director of the Riverbank project.