Dora, I like the suggestion of containers. I have a bunch of containers, currently grouped together in no particular design, and they'd serve nicely between the plants as a stopgap. The alyssum and violets eventually will come back, but the containers will hide some of the bare earth while I'm waiting for their return.
It's hard to say whether the de-choking helped the roses. Powdery mildew only affects a couple of old ramblers in my garden, so that was never a problem. Removing the extra plants did make the small roses more visible in the beds, but they also began to suffer from thirst. I know it made a huge difference in my water bill, sending it soaring to $400+, but even that didn't provide enough moisture for some of the roses.
Cindi, I love your list of suggestions. Verbena, dianthus, creeping phlox, zinnias, sedums, etc. All of those will be great space fillers. Spuria irises would be too expensive for my present income level, I think. And they might not last long. I used to have lots of irises between my roses, but the gophers started coming for them after I began caging my roses. I'm afraid the smell of lavender, rosemary, and garlic would be too overpowering. I don't like strong scents in the garden. I can only grow veronica 'Georgia Blue' in the shade here, so it won't work, unfortunately.
