consequences?

i was on campus last night for an environmental action committee meeting and i took a stroll past the garden before i left and it startled me. we had some significant snow last week and i expected the garden to be covered just like it was last time, but it wasn't. the black landscaping fabric i used to secure the straw mulch was visible as could be , even in the dark. i was concerned that on sunny days it might generate enough warmth underneath that mulch to fool the yams into coming out of dormancy. they are the only plants with any portion above ground in there right now. so when i got home i fired off an email to joe hollis at http://www.mountaingardensherbs.com/information.html
to get some difinitive information from someone who knows more than i do about chinese yams. i haven't heard from him yet, but will i am sure. anyway...i went back this morning to have a daylight look and i'm not sure but that i overeacted a touch. the last snow we had came out of the north and was followed by a period of strong north winds. the garden is on the south side of hawthorn hall and you can see in the picture a wide swath of bare ground that lies west of the garden. snow might have blown off the fabric, not melted. either way i will follow any advice joe delivers just to be on the safe side. stay tuned.

okay...it's 10:05 in the morning and i just opened an email from joe hollis who tells me not to worry. chinese yams emerge from dormancy late and are cold hardy. he tells me he doesn't even remember any of his being damaged by a late frost. so wind or melt-off the uncovered fabric is a non-issue.