When the Desert Remembers How to Bloom

In Chile's Atacama Desert — one of the driest places on earth — seeds lie buried beneath cracked, barren soil for years, sometimes decades. They wait through scorching heat and relentless wind, showing no sign of life. Then, when the rains finally come, something astonishing happens. Within weeks, the entire desert floor erupts in color. Purple pata de guanaco, yellow añañuca, and white Atacama daisies carpet miles of sand.…