Plantwatch: beauty can grow from unpromising ground The discovery of the rare maiden pink at an electricity substation shows how nature can flourish in unlikely spots Maiden pink grows only at a few places in Breckland in East Anglia. Photograph: Axel Jahn/Handout/EPA Maiden pink grows only at a few places in Breckland in East Anglia. Photograph: Axel Jahn/Handout/EPA Wed 21 Jul 2021 01.00 EDT A beautiful rare flower has been found growing at an unlikely site – an electricity substation near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Maiden pink is a relative of carnations, and grows only at a few places on the sandy dry soils of Breckland. Another rare plant, the lesser calamint, which is related to mint and has fragrant leaves, was discovered at another substation, this one near Braintree in Essex.