This is the time of year that I think about dividing daffodils, tulips, iris and day lilies. I know, I know; I am supposed to do this in the fall, when the bulbs, corms and tubers can be resettled for the winter, to rise again to bloom the following spring and summer. But I interplant our bulb beds with annuals and some selected perennials to keep color all summer and into fall, and then I leave the seed heads for the birds — or so I tell myself when canning, freezing, digging dahlias and other fall chores crowd our time and stamina.

Right now is the moment I can see the plants and blooms pushing up and I can notice the places where bulbs are crowded or fading. But it is not the time to divide and replant.

I know the whole idea is to separate the crowded bulbs to give the new, younger ones a chance to bloom and thrive in the future. Separated, each gets a better share of nutrients, light and rain. Plus, if there are extras you can make someone happy by sharing the wealth. Still, as we are learn more about the world of soil, trees and plants, it turns out a lot of interaction is going on underground via roots and mycorrhizal fungi and other connections. Plants nurture each other, warn and protect each other, sometimes even across species. How astonishing! Disrupting these connections, thinning the natural linkages among plants and their supporting microbes could have deleterious effects.

According to some sources, our country has never been so divided. Many other times political and social feelings have run high, but right now our country is frequently described as “deeply divided.” However, if we look at recent assessments of public opinion there is remarkable unity on some very challenging issues. Sixty-two percent support legal abortion in most or all cases. Even more (over 70%) believe abortion by medication should be available. (Only 12% want Congress to ban abortion.)

Here are numbers for some other issues: Equal protection under the law — 91%; Freedom of speech — 91%; Right to privacy — 90%; Freedom of religion — 88%; Peaceful assembly — 84%; Freedom of the press — 83%; Right to keep and bear arms — 54%. Even on gun management, 64% say they favor stronger controls; 94% support restrictions for convicted felons or people with mental health problems; 80% support raising the gun ownership age to 21; and 58% support a ban on semiautomatic weapons. (All figures from PRRI — Public Religious Research Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit; other sources show similar totals.)

These numbers are not close. With the exception of the right to bear arms, all numbers show robust majorities. So is it just the volume of the minority that leads to headlines like “deeply divided?” Is it more that we are “loudly divided?”

It’s easy to amplify dissent to reverberate like echoes in a canyon, seeming to come from every direction. Sadly, social media, which could offer a positive role in information sharing and community caring, has become a canyon of cacophony in our society. This is not to say a minority should be shut out. They have their right to their beliefs and opinions. Some of their points may sway others. But it is to say that no minority should be able to force others to follow their lead.

It turns out that just 43 members of the House of Representatives (and only 11 radical right Republicans) out of 402 were willing to throw Congress into disarray again by allowing a vote to oust the current majority (Republican) leader Mike Johnson. After months of chaos caused by this group insisting that the previous speaker step down, then refusing to handle routine congressional responsibilities like the national budget and debt ceiling votes, this tiny minority (less than 3%) was finally rebuffed by 359 Democrats and Republicans who opted to get on with crucial national financial and policy decisions.

For our bulbs, division can be a good thing, within limits. For our country, not so much.

Look beneath the surface and we are all humans. No tulips can cross-pollinate with daffodils or lilies; all humans can reproduce together. This year I’ll take photos of those dense or fading bulbs to remind us this fall about where we should dig and reorganize.

Meanwhile, I take comfort from the abundance of our slightly crowded profusion of flowers and from the consensus that we find just under the surface if we dig beneath those headlines.

Judy Wagner lives in Northfield.