A Chicagoan, Deno had an interest in plants from a young age, but obtained a post-doctoral degree in chemistry as a more lucrative career opportunity.

His chemistry professor position at Penn State University resulted in a discovery by his lab on coal refinement for oil refineries that earned him a large amount of wealth from grants.

He went on to publish multiple books covering seed germination theory and he received awards from the North American Rock Garden Society for his work.

Born in Chicago on February 15, 1921,[1] Deno suffered from asthma as a child and was unable to participate in outdoor sports in school.

[3] His teenage years during the Great Depression saw hard times for his family and, since there was little income to be made in the field of horticulture despite his interest in the subject, he chose to study chemistry at the University of Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1942.

From 1942 to 1946, he studied under Werner Emmanuel Bachmann on the production of the explosive RDX in order to reduce the likelihood of premature detonation during handling for use in torpedoes.

[1] During his time as a chemist, Deno and his lab students made a major discovery on the operation of oil refineries and how to increase their efficiency.

[12] These methodologies developed by Deno were reproduced by gardening photographer Ken Druse for his book Making More Plants: The Science, Art and Joy of Propagation.

[13] Seed companies sought his expertise in finding germination techniques for their products; Thompson & Morgan incorporated his methods into their customer directions.

Deno's book was to focus on seed germination techniques and the requirements and needs of different species, a topic he felt was lacking from Harkness' and others' works.