Yes, a hardy perennial, not a shrub. Flowers late summer and as tough as old boots. Here are some of mine.

for silver leaved shrubs i have 2 recommendations, dee. 1)salix alba cericea: i grow this as a tree, a favorite, the best silver leaved tree i can imagine: MUCH nicer habit than other salix i grow; a light-allowing-enough -canopy that you can grow lots of things under it (incl. those sun loving conifers); VERY fast growing. you can keep it pruned as a bush if you like. 2) eleagnus quicksilver- very effectively used shrub in perennial borders at Tranquil Lake nursery in rehoboth ma. both have much nicer habit than the silver leaved weeping pear(to me). both plants available at tranq lake. best, mindy

There certainly are lots of species popping up that were never there before - including what looks like a grevillea species that's just started to appear. There's a guy from the council who's been helping people with advice on revegetation & I've heard he's gotten really excited by some of the plants that are appearing. He's got a blog with pictures of some of what he's found in his work - I'll attach the link for anyone who's interested. http://notechis.blogspot.com/

Well, all I would suggest is to do a lot more research :-) Euonymus alatus is a recognized invasive in at least 25 states. And one seldom sees obvious signs of invasiveness in neighboring gardens.....it is when the plants starts rampantly spreading onto natural areas and out-competing and displacing native species that invasiveness becomes obvious and serious! Euonymus alatus in PA. Look at the photo in the far right bottom of the first page for an illustration of how it has colonized natural areas. Euonymus alatus in MD. Inclusion of a plant on any state or region's invasive species listing is not a frivolous undertaking. It is done when it presents a serious threat to native species, whether you can personally see that threat or not!! This is a bit like thinking that because you have not encountered it directly or have been exposed to those that might be (and quite likely are) carriers there is no need for social distancing with the coronavirus pandemic. And there is nothing "self righteous" about acknowledging invasive species DO exist and are of concern where that is the case. What is self righteous is the attitude of denial that a problem exists simply because you have not seen it to be so when authorities have established it to be fact.