Clover was instrumental in establishing the cactus and succulent areas of the botanical gardens. She made numerous expeditions throughout the Southwest in search of native plant species for the university collection, focusing initially on cacti of the Colorado Plateau in Utah.[2] In the late 1930s, she started planning a research trip down the Colorado River to catalog its flora, and the university gave her some funding for the trip in the expectation that it would yield specimens for its collection.[6] Although she originally intended to go by pack mule, she discussed the idea of going by boat instead with the pioneering Colorado River boatman, Norman Nevills, whom she met on a collecting expedition in Mexican Hat, Utah.[7][8][9]