Meetings

General Meetings

The garden club meets monthly (September through June) at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 303 Route 101, Amherst (next door to the Amherst Garden Center). Meetings are held the first Thursday of the month (except in September, when we meet the first Thursday after Labor Day) and usually include a featured speaker, referred to as a “program.”

Our business meetings begin at 9:15 am, followed by the program at 10:30 am.

Inclement weather policy — In the case of inclement weather, the monthly meeting will be canceled only if the Amherst schools are closed. If the schools have a delayed start, the monthly meeting will be held at the usual time.

Side Shoots

The club also offers an evening program held at the Amherst Town Library called Side Shoots. Scroll down for details. 

Next Program

Feb 5, 2026 – Linh Aven and Elizabeth Haskett

Feb 5, 2026 Building a Pantry from Local & Wild Foraged Foods Presented by Linh Aven and Elizabeth Haskett We are surrounded by an abundance of food, from what we can grow ourselves locally, to what we can forage all around us. Linh Aven and Elizabeth Haskett of Dandelion Forest Farm will lead us in this presentation, which focuses on preserving the harvest to highlight hand-crafted seasonings, condiments, ferments and dried goods in the preparation of meals. Linh and Elizabeth will guide us through a holistic plan to build a home pantry across the seasons and will discuss techniques to process crops. They will also share ideas for how to cook with your pantry ingredients. Dandelion Forest Farm, located in Nottingham, is an agroforestry farm started by a chef, a farmer, and a scientist on a mission to figure out a better way to grow and eat food. Their focus is on edible perennial plants that naturally grow well in the northeast, such as chestnuts, elderberries, lavender, and paw paws. Inspired by permaculture, biodynamics and Indigenous practices, the staff at the Farm are working to transform six acres of hay fields into a magical and bountiful food forest, all while making

Upcoming Programs

Past Programs

Side Shoots @ The Library

Side Shoots is a special interest group that focuses on seasonal topics with presentations by garden club members.

Meetings take place the second Thursday of the month (except for December) from 7:00-8:00 PM at the Amherst Town Library.

The public is welcome. All must register through the library to attend.

Next Side Shoots

Feb 12 – Invasive Plants in NH

Feb 12, 2026 Invasive Plants in NH Presented by Kathie Breen, Club Member and Master Gardener This presentation will be on Zoom. Register through the library to receive the Zoom link. Learn the difference between invasive and aggressive plants and why invasive plants are so harmful to our environment. This talk will focus on 10 common invasives in NH, including identification, as well as when and how to eradicate and dispose of them. Kathie is a retired software/systems engineer whose career focused on medical device design and development. She became a Master Gardener in 2019 and Natural Resource Steward in 2021. This training led to an intense interest in native plants and invasive plant control.  One of her first projects, in concert with other Amherst Garden Club Master Gardeners, was to establish a children’s vegetable garden at the Boys and Girls Club in Milford in 2019. Through ongoing lessons, kids have experienced planting, tending, harvesting and eating the produce. A pollinator and a native plant garden, certified by the Natural Wildlife Federation, were added in 2021. In 2022, a new program was started to enhance the nature trail behind the club with the kids. This included developing signage, adding erosion

Upcoming Side Shoots

Past Side Shoots