About Us – Two Ferns Native Nursery

Athena Salzer is the proud owner and operator of Two Ferns Native Nursery. She has over 12 years’ professional experience in ecological restoration, sustainable landscaping, and conservation and has a background in Forestry – Ecological Restoration and Management from University of Wisconsin – Steven’s Point. Athena would love to chat about your landscaping or restoration project – and, as the first and only nursery in the greater Madison area to sell exclusively native flora, Two Ferns provides the quality plants your project needs.

Two Ferns was originally co-founded with colleague Amy Jo Dusick. While working as land managers, Athena and Amy Jo became frustrated by the lack of native plants available in the area. This inspired them to open Two Ferns in 2019. The friends built the business from the ground up and have become a trusted resource for professionals and home gardeners alike. In early 2022, Amy Jo moved her family up to central Wisconsin. Athena became sole owner of the nursery and continues to grow the business and its impact.

Two Ferns strives to be a trustworthy source of quality native plants for the Madison area and beyond. This means no cultivars and no systemic, harmful pesticides are used. We want our plants to be as natural and healthy as possible in order to properly sustain a Wisconsin landscape. Our plants all have a place in the local ecosystem and most work for home gardens and urban landscapes alike.

We also offer native trees and shrubs for sale in partnership with larger growers, at least twice a year or demand warrants. If you’re looking for something, please ask!

Currently Two Ferns operates from our hoop house on Madison’s east side, near Sycamore Park. We’re growing quickly and hope to outgrow current set up in the near future – fingers crossed! Athena is very much looking forward to that day, and we’ll keep you posted as dreams unfold.

Stop by during one of our scheduled open hours! Meet Athena, browse the garden, and see what native plants you might add to your landscape!

When she’s not in the hoop house, Athena can likely be found in the garden, tinkering with random art projects, bothering her cat, bike-camping with partner, Eric, or working on other volunteer initiatives.

She is currently serving as Vice President of Madison’s chapter of Wild Ones, and co-founded Friends of Sycamore Park. Athena and Eric live immediately adjacent to the park and have spearheaded a number of projects including oak woodland restoration on the north portion of the park and a quarter-acre prairie restoration near the dog park (the latter a collaborative effort with City of Madison Parks and Engineering Departments). As residents of the Burke Heights Neighborhood, Athena wants to ensure Two Ferns is able to give back and can be a valuable asset to the neighborhood and surrounding community.