I'm no expert, but I am going to assume that some of the seeds in your packets may need cold stratification. That is why the instructions say to refrigerate. If you do not stratify them they may not germinate right away-it may take some of them until next year to begin growing. Some will germinate without the cold, I know some poppies don't need cold stratification. Your flower seeds would be good candidates for winter sowing. Check out the wintersowing forum and the FAQs for more info.

Lucas

The key is knowing which seeds need cold stratification to germinate. You can cold stratify any number of ways, one way includes using the refrigerator, another way would be directly sowing outdoors, or winter sowing in jugs...

If you just put seeds under the lights or wait until its warm, the seeds that need cold stratification won't germinate...

You could directly sow them outdoors now, and just wait until next spring for those to germinate, (providing they don't get eaten by critters between now and then).

Yes you should follow seed package instructions or they will not sprout. Native plants usually need various treatments to germinate. There are some good books out there to help you along, one I like is the New England Wildflower Book. I also google each species I want to grow such as: anemone canadensis propagation.