Struggling with Black-eyed Susan — would appreciate advice

I want to be honest: I'm not getting great results with Black-eyed Susan and I'm not entirely sure why. poor germination in compacted or clay soils has been a recurring problem despite my attempts to address it. I've been focusing on sowing directly into poor soil as rich soil encourages weeds based on everything I've read.

wide seasonal succession from spring to autumn is there in glimpses, which tells me the plant has potential in my conditions. I have it in a naturalistic border at the edge of a garden which might not be ideal. early spring bulbs and annual seedling germination showed some improvement. Two stars for now — not the plant's fault, but not a success yet. I'll update if things improve.