>> I am determined to not let it get complicated.
You are probably smart, but something inside me makes "complicated" very appealing. Maybe after years of fiddling around happily, I will find that I HAVE to keep it simple.
I got many Salvia clevelandii seeds from Risingcreek (Kaycee). He or she said he tried many ways to start them and all failed - until he or she got disgusted and just threw some seeds on top of some clay and walked away. That worked!