SALISBURY — Roses, roses, everywhere you look; a sea of color — red, yellow, orange, white, lavender, purple, blends and even a green one. Fragrance so strong you will think you are in a perfume factory. What is this place? It is the Rowan Rose Society’s Annual Rose Show.

The Rowan Rose Society will hold its 54th annual rose show this weekend at Salisbury Mall. The show will be open to the public Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Exhibitors from N.C., S.C. and Virginia will enter hundreds of beautiful and fragrant roses to be judged. There will be 36 classes of large and miniature roses as well as nine classes of arrangements. There will be a class for roses that were introduced before 1867 and those in and after 1867. There will be a class for novices who have never won a blue ribbon in an American Rose Society accredited show. There will even be a class for rose identification. If you have a rose that you don’t know the name of, bring it and let the judges try to identify it.

There will be 12 American Rose Society certified judges with many years’ experience with roses. The rose should have a nice long stem with leaves included to help with the identification. These roses will be accepted until 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Awards will be presented to the best of each class as well as Queen of Show, King of Show, Princess of Show and Queen’s Court, which consists of the four runners-up.

Anyone can enter roses and arrangements and does not have to be a member of any rose organization. Entries will be accepted between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday. No entries will be accepted after 10 a.m., as that is when judging will begin.

Rowan Rose Society members will be available on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to answer questions about the roses in the show as well as provide information about growing roses and solving individual rose growing problems.

At the close of the show on Sunday, roses will be sold with proceeds going to benefit the American Rose Society.

Carolyn Alexander, master consulting rosarian, is accredited by the American Rose Society and an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer with Cooperative Extension in Rowan County.