planted fragrant lavender and rosemary around the base, which didn't just look nice; the scent naturally repelled the mountain goats from lingering near the entrance.
designed a simple, elegant latch that used gravity instead of gears—easy to open but impossible for a goat to nudge.
thinned down the oak beams, making them sturdy but light enough to swing.
"Horst," Dieter said quietly, "your gate is a fortress, but it’s a wall, not a door.""Schorsch," Horst added, "your vines are lovely, but they’ve turned the gate into a hedge.""And Dieter," Schorsch laughed, "your pulleys are so complicated that the goats will have eaten the town before we open them."
(a classic nickname for Georg) was a quick-witted gardener. He had a "green thumb" that seemed more like magic; he could talk a stubborn rosebush into blooming in the frost.
One spring, the village’s ancient wooden gate—the only way to keep the mountain goats out of the vegetable patches—finally crumbled. The mayor approached the trio with a plea: "Build us a gate that is strong, welcoming, and smart enough to never get stuck." The Three Approaches
wanted the gate to be part of the forest. He planted fast-growing vines to weave through the slats. "It must be beautiful!" he insisted. But the vines grew so fast they choked the hinges.