Start with short 6x6 PT posts anchored to the ground with Simpson post bases. For each column, use 4 pieces of PT 2x6 fastened at right angles around the 6x6 to create a box 7" x 7". Install 1/2" ply over the PT box column. Keep the ply an inch or two above ground. (The ply will keep the stucco from cracking as the PT wood shrinks and expands) Cover the whole thing with roofing felt. Nail on the stucco lath. I recommend using the metal corners and metal bottom edge for the stucco. Install the bottom edge a little lower than the ply, but still an inch above ground. Use a hefty bead of Sika or other high quality urethane caulk to seal the bottom edge of the metal/wood. Apply stucco in at least 3 coats, allowing each coat to dry completely for a couple days before the next. Mist the stucco daily as it cures. Wait several weeks before painting.

If you are going with a traditional 3-coat stucco, Frame it up as Aidan advised as well as the lath. You want to make sure your bottom metal,typically called a weep screed, has drainage ports to let moisture run down and out the bottom. Stucco isn't watereproof, so it's important to get your underlayments and flashings correctly installed so that the moisture build up behind will run down and out the weep screed at the base. Hold it up enough to allow for this as Aidan suggested. Your scratch coat can be followed the next day by the brown coat. Work the scratch coat in well to the lath wire and the corner aid metal and leave rough, ending up with about 3/8" of product. You still should be able to see the wire and while wet, rake grooves in it for "grip" for the brown coat. The brown coat is where you want to get it smooth, flat and square. This will be basically the finished column. It will end up being another 3/8" thickness and should be raked with a straight edge to form a flat column You should see no metal or wire with the exception of the very outside of the corner aid nice and clean when finished. You really should let this sit for thirty days, wetting it down good about every 2-3 days depending on temps in your area. Letting it sit for thirty days allows it to crack as much as it's going to, so expect cracks, that's normal. Top coat with a stucco base about 1/4" and texture if wanted. Then paint as suggested by Aidan or you can get color mixes that go into the base for your color. If you really want reliability in a top coat, look into an acrylic pre-mixed top coat that stays flexible, expanding and contracting. This is important to use in colder parts of the country and will leave you virtually a crack free finish for a long time compared to traditional. A masonry supplier is typically better than the box stores, especially when it comes time for advice. Out here, LaHabra is a well known product for tradional stucco applications. Ask around what's available in your area and what plaster contractors are using with success.

Here is a link that might be useful: stucco