Struggling with California Poppy — would appreciate advice

I want to be honest: I'm not getting great results with California Poppy 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.

naturalistic aesthetic that suits modern ecological gardens is there in glimpses, which tells me the plant has potential in my conditions. I have it in a wildlife pond margin planting which might not be ideal. seed setting and dispersal in late summer showed some improvement. Two stars for now — not the plant's fault, but not a success yet. I'll update if things improve.