I tried mounding an inch or so of sandy soil over the buds when they first appeared last fall and they just grew back up to the surface. Those little buggers want to see the early warm sunlight. I haven't worked out the details on how best to protect them. I have some new 1/2 inch foam carpet pad or some landscape material made of what appears to be fiberglass much like a compressed furnace filter which would keep the snow and ice off but still let them breathe.
