Extension's Woodland Stewardship Education program may be helpful, and you can also reach out to your county Master Gardener Coordinator to find out about local education programs, demonstration gardens, and other resources. (MGs do not perform one-on-one site visits or consultations, with the exception of assessing a Bay-Wise yard for passing criteria, but since the Howard County coordinator position is temporarily vacant, the point-of-contact you can use is highlighted on the linked page.)

We do not have a county-specific resource about pest insects because they are not that localized, and very, very few insects in our landscapes are pests of significance. Termites are commonplace in natural landscapes and woodlands and do not pose a threat to homes or other structures that are built properly (using treated wood and whatever other measures meet building codes designed to discourage wood-destroying organism damage). UMD Extension has lots of home gardening information online, including pages for identifying commonly-encountered insects (beneficial or otherwise), and you are welcome to send us photos for ID if you find an insect you are concerned about.

We can also help ID plants, though in some cases, multiple traits that might be hard to photograph (like blooms on a tall tree) may be needed. Resources like Virginia Tech's dendrology key can be useful in all seasons for tree ID, and sometimes plant ID apps can get you close to the right species (they are not foolproof). A certified arborist or licensed tree expert can also be hired to do a consultation to help with tree ID and tree health assessment. Arborists not affiliated with a tree care company might be more likely to be impartial with regards to any recommended treatments or tree removal proposals. When a dead or dying tree won't threaten a structure or personal safety when it eventually falls, we recommend leaving it (also the cheapest option) since they are very valuable for wildlife.

For areas being planted (either as veggie gardens, lawn, or other intentional plantings as opposed to wild lands), a laboratory soil test can come in handy. It assesses nutrient content, acidity (pH), and organic matter levels. This is not necessary for natural-state lands since you do not intend to alter the existing conditions, but it might help inform plant choice if you are adding native plants to the landscape over time. If you're curious about soil texture (sandy loam, clay, etc.), there are some simple options for at-home tests you can do yourself, like:

• Determining Soil Texture by Hand (video) -- Washington State University
• Soil Texture Analysis "Jar Test" -- Clemson Extension

We can't speak to what likely fees will be for consultations with arborists or other experts since we do not collect that information nor recommend particular businesses. We can, though, suggest one option of considering someone who has Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional certification if you prefer someone with training in using sustainable landscaping techniques.

Miri

This is very helpful - thank you. 

Turfgrass lawns of any type (using walkable, mowable grasses, at least) require full sun to thrive, meaning they need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun a day in summer. Some turf types will tolerate less sun (like fine fescue and, to a lesser degree, tall fescue), but the more shade and tree root competition they face, the more they will struggle. If you have a location with a suitable amount of sun, we suggest using either tall fescue or a tall fescue - fine fescue blend, the latter of which are usually marketed as seed mixes for part shade. You can learn more about the advantages and vulnerabilities of each turf type in our Starting a New Lawn web page.

Experimentation is in its early stages regarding using native sedges (genus Carex) as a lawn substitute, since sedges look like grasses (though they are not related). Some will even tolerate mowing, though it remains to be seen how much foot traffic they will take compared to "traditional" turfgrass, which is thus far the only groundcover proven to handle regular foot traffic use from people and pets. You can explore the publication Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region by Mt. Cuba Center (a native plant-focused public garden in Delaware) to learn about which species in their trials fared the best in certain conditions (more sun vs. more shade, damp versus dry soil preferences, being mowed, etc.). Some clump and some spread, so spacing between plants for establishing a sedge "lawn" would vary depending on the species chosen. We don't have any additional experience using sedges as  a lawn outside of what Mt. Cuba tested, though we hope to study this locally in future years.

Within the fescue turfgrasses, fine fescue is lower-maintenance than tall fescue, not just for sustainability reasons, but because the grass won't tolerate the same degree of mowing, fertilizing, or even foot traffic. It's best grown where it's allowed to get a bit longer-bladed and the plants arch over a bit into a drift-like look (see attached photo example). Given that, it might not lend itself well to an area where people walk/play frequently, so in that regard, tall fescue may be better. While a small percentage of Kentucky Bluegrass is often included in tall fescue seed blends, it is not recommended as a pure lawn since it is too disease-prone and higher-maintenance than tall fescue. The main reason it's included at all is for the benefit of it's "self-repair" function, since it spreads more aggressively than tall fescue, which enables a lawn to fill-in minor gaps from wear-and-tear on its own.

One way to have a lawn be more eco-friendly is to allow some native "weeds" to remain in the lawn if they should appear, such as wild violets (just about every species that grows wild here is native). Including clover is popular, but it's not native, requires full sun, and the more aggressive form if "regular" white clover (as opposed to the tamer dwarf form called "microclover") could create solid patches of growth that, when dormant and leafless, might allow for some erosion or other weed seeds to invade.

One primary way of caring for a lawn sustainably is just to only apply what fertilizer and lime may be needed to support good growth, and avoiding the use of herbicide. Our Organic Lawn Care page provides more tips. While Maryland law regulates what fertilizer formulations and dosing can be applied to home lawns, using a laboratory soil test to determine what your soil nutrient and acidity (pH) profile is when you start is a good way to know what does or does not need boosting via fertilizer. While some gardeners may assume that avoiding fertilizer is the preferred choice, it actually can allow more weeds to take over as the grass becomes less vigorous, which in some ways can make the lawn more high-maintenance and less suitable of a groundcover than a healthy, thriving lawn would be. (Vigorously-growing turfgrass will be better at reducing erosion, capturing and filtering rainwater, storing carbon, etc.) We have information in the pages above about soil testing and how to interpret the results, but we can also assist with that if desired. We also have more extensive information on general lawn care in our Lawn Care and Maintenance collection of web pages that should be useful.

As for timing, late summer into early autumn is the ideal time of year to create a fescue lawn. If you opt for zoysia, then we are approaching the ideal time of year to install plugs for a new lawn for that turf type, since it is in active growth in the summer months and completely dormant in the autumn, winter, and early spring months. Using fescue sod will get you an essentially weed-free lawn from the start and is a shortcut to using seed, though does tend to be more expensive per square foot of lawn creation than putting down seed. Either will require careful monitoring for watering needs so it doesn't dry out in the establishment phase; only once established will a lawn be somewhat drought-tolerant and lower-maintenance with regards to irrigation.

Miri