Struggling with Purple Coneflower — would appreciate advice

I want to be honest: I'm not getting great results with Purple Coneflower 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 allowing plants to set seed before cutting at the end of season 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 wildflower meadow replacing lawn areas which might not be ideal. peak flowering from early to midsummer showed some improvement. Two stars for now — not the plant's fault, but not a success yet. I'll update if things improve.