Typically, a volunteer gardener on the outside will send a list of plants to an incarcerated gardener. sumell began the solitary gardens project to continue his legacy, inviting Albert Woodfox, who was released in 2016, to be one of the inaugural gardeners. Solitary Gardens requested that Jesse’s last name not be used for fear of retaliation from prison officials. The concept of solitary gardens have been reproduced across the country, including garden beds in Philadelphia and Texas. In 2019, he received a letter asking him to participate in the solitary gardens project, to which he replied yes.