What is safe to spray on grape vines to keep off Japanese beetles?

Neem oil is an effective botanical insecticide that does the job and is safe for an eating crop. It also will control grape berry moth.

My azaleas, lilac, redbud, hostas and pachysandras all look terrible, but I see no insects on them. Is this a blight?

No. Keep in mind that diseases and insects are usually fairly specialized, affecting only one type of plant. (An exception would be general feeders, such as Japanese beetles.) When you see problems affecting widely different species of plants, the problems are undoubtedly environmental or cultural, for...