If the mulch that you had to uncover did not appear to have been moved our left open, then it could have been moles. We had a lot of damage by them this year way more than any other year that I can remember. They even ate bark of some of our smaller bushes. Now about the Eunymous bushes and if you have evergreens the deer seem to love them during the winter. We have never had any problems during the spring through fall seasons.
