Like many of you, my area hasn't gotten too cold yet so I'm barely counting it as winter. I'm on the Olympic Peninsula. I'm a newbie to gardening and I got some Rocky Mountain Columbine seeds, and I know they require cold to germinate. Starting them indoors sounds like a lot of work, do you think it's too late in the year for me to just sow them directly into the ground outside?

We haven't had a hard freeze yet, it does frost overnight and it snowed exactly once before it all melted. The ground is workable...but I've never really started seeds before. Has anyone tried this?

My yard is on a hill that's very gravelly also, so even though we get buckets of rain constantly it all drains away very quickly.

Can you get an inexpensive shallow, wide pot ? Fill with regular garden soil, or bagged (real) soil , more like actual dirt, than "potting mix"?
You could then top with less than one full (more thin) layer, (or) a fairly sparsely covered layer with some of the more finely "crushed" gravel.

Sow your seeds as evenly as you can, over the top. Then sprinkle enough seed starting mix, peat moss, or as thin of a later of soil/dirt, as you can. Mist with water, & keep under the eave of the house, on the Southern most side, for as much winter sun exposure, that it can get.
Otherwise, you may sow them, & if that slope is steep enough, rains that much, or so often, they just may wash down that hill, before they germinate.

Usually that's about a months time, to germinate most of the regular Columbines. While the Rocky Mountain kind, may take awhile longer.
You might see them sprout in a couple months, as it is winter time, or mainly about by mid March. Depending on if your temperatures tend to remain cold, or just cool at night, & warmer (50 to 65F) in the day.

Thank you!

Sorry my original post about living on a hill was misleading/badly worded. The whole neighborhood is elevated, but my actual property is very flat. I think when it was originally leveled they used machinery that really packed the soil tight. But if I directly sow seeds and it rains, they won't go anywhere.

I do have a nice shallow pot, I think I will try your method.

You are quite welcome.
That way, you may more easily recognize the seedlings, & also have some better drainage too.
You need not sow the entire seed packet.
Although they may take until next spring, to see blooms on the stalks.

We grow a lot of Columbines here and just toss the onto the soil and water. The
sooner you get them into soil the sooner you will get them to flower.