[3] These serendipitous situations led Silverton to purchase the land south of downtown and dedicate it to the future garden in 1995.

[1] Subsequent ceremonies dedicated additional features such as the Gordon House on March 2, 2002, and the Rediscovery Forest and Natural Resources Center on June 7, 2002.

[6] In 2002, the water garden won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for environmental friendliness.

Financial contributions from the Oregon Lottery, City of Silverton, and Marion County have helped keep it functioning.

[15] Moonstone purchased 11.1 acres (4.5 ha) from the City of Silverton[16] to build a 103-room resort hotel on undeveloped land adjacent to the garden's water feature.

[19] Plans to develop adjacent land to expand the Oregon Garden appear to be abandoned with a proposal to develop the 80-acre (32 ha) property southwest of the site into an urban park called Pettit Natural Area Demonstration Urban Natural Area.

[25] On each Earth Day since 1999, the Garden hosts a celebration which attracts environmental supporters and organizations with demonstrations, exhibitions, and workshops.

[27] Even in the summer months, the garden does not draw on drinking water supplies, instead relying entirely on wastewater treatment plant effluent, which additionally irrigates 240 acres (0.97 km2) of farmland.

The garden also provides wetland mitigation for a nearby industrial park to provide waterfowl and amphibian habitat, and offloads Silver Creek from water it would not naturally carry during low-flow months in the summer to address an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requirement.