Aquatic turtles are just plain COOL!! They are active, cute and fun to look at. They make great pets although they should not be handled often and should be enjoyed, like fish, for viewing. A "turtle pond" is basically a garden pond without fish. You could co-habitate the two but turtles like to eat fish, so I do not think it would be such a good idea. They also may terrorize water lilies when they get bigger but all other water plants should thrive with the exception of under water plants which they love to munch on. Turtles need to come inside in the winter because an ornamental pond is not designed for them to hibernate properly as in their natural habitat.