I saw the bloom protector linked below at a lecture.

It uses part of a clear juice bottle for keeping rain off the rose, but maybe you could adapt the idea of putting a 5-foot pole or stake with adjustable pipe clamps next to the bush and attach them to something opaque to give a bloom shade:

Here is a link that might be useful: bloom protector

Petaloid,

Thanks so much for the info. I like the way that bloom protectors is firmly secured, minimizing wind damage.

I was also intrigued by the Japanese Beetle killer, since I am besieged by Asiatic Beetles in Aug/Sept and 2008 was the worst yr by far.

A friend here uses Clarence's bloom protectors, but she uses a variety of rebar lengths because of the size of her HTs. Keeps the blooms dry. You could possibly use colored bottles (if you can find them) or paint the inside of the bottles with an opaque paint.