After Rainy Winter, California Bursts Into Tremendous Bloom

An explosion of oranges, yellows, purples and whites has covered California’s hillsides, as a rare “super bloom” bursts into life in the wake of a very wet winter.

Vast stretches of countryside that spend months of the year as a muted, dry brown have been transformed into a carpet of color that can be seen from space.

“It almost feels like a painting,” says Triana Montserrat as she surveys the California poppies, brittlebush and lupins that smother the ground.

“It’s so intricate, and it’s so beautiful. It’s like my mind couldn’t even have come up with that itself,” adds the 29-year-old.

America’s most populous state spent months cowering from the onslaught of repeated storms that brought near-record rainfall.

Californians more used to wearing shorts and shades retreated indoors, where many suddenly discovered roof leaks that had gone unnoticed during several dry years.

But as the waterlogged winter gave way to spring, nature revealed its spectacular reward.

Behold: the super bloom, an ill-defined but you’ll-know-it-when-you-see-it treat that comes along every so often, when the arid ground is treated to a jolly good soaking.