I'd say no. Grasses, and their kin, are monocotyledons. They're herbaceous, which means they don't form woody tissue (there are exceptions, like Bamboo). Bushes/Shrubs are mostly dicotyledons, and do form woody tissue.

Grasses can certainly serve the purpose, in the garden, that bushes/shrubs serve; that of skeletal structure, or garden bones.

They could be, but you'd be incorrect. As Donn has pointed out, two separate classifications of plants bearing no resemblance to each other and having very different flowering, reproduction and growth habits. OG's are more often grouped with herbaceous perennials rather than woody shrubs but even that grouping is inaccurate.

COULD ORNAMENTAL GRASSES BE CALLED PLANTS

Well, you can only name living things:
Plants
Animals
Fungi
Bacteria
Virus

What other kingdom's are there? In any case, grasses certainly belong in the plant kingdom. They are not animals, fungi, bacteria or virus.

GRASSES ARE GRASSES! Period. Next question please

oh Agastache Man! you are soooo astute!!

thanks for all interesting responses knupp

Grasses are grasses so what is man? Being politically correct what is human or what ARE humans?

Plants ?
Animals ?
Fungi ?
Bacteria?
Virus ?

I know humans that can and do fit in not one or two but all of the above catagories of living structures.

Jake

..but would a rose, by any other name, smell as sweet ??

Oh, wait, that should have been on the rose forum....my bad..

I could call a horses tail a leg but that wouldn't make a five legged horse!

Human. The word has many meanings, either pertaining to a state of being, or classing an animal, like us. the question of grasses either being shrubs or bushes, come on, no comparison. To Jake's ever wordly ethical debate of human vs. being human. Some would define us as a virus, but hey, this is a gardening blog, not 'What is man if grasses are grasses" blog which would have no ending due to conflicting views on ethical understanding and conformity of ideas. Now the question, "Are grasses considered bush or shrub?" is neither. A bush and a shrub are thrown into the definition of a woody stemed plant with a hardened cambium outside layer which may have resembling tree-like bark, structure, but dwarfing multi-layered shape due to evolution.....oh no, I said evolution......oh no, get out the ethical philosophers and get on the band wagon to arguementville......oh ya, again, grasses are not shrubs or bushes....they are blade-bearing perennial and annual plants....thats politically correct.