Virginia creeper would probably grow in those conditions just fine.
they like alkaline conditions, shade, grow thru cracks in concrete
just fine too... LOL. they grow fast, they do have roots that attach,
but they are beautiful in summer, turn red in fall, have berries for
wildlife. Ingrid

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:12:32 -0700, "
wrote:

Hello,

We have several columns in our backyard that support both open and
closed awnings. All of the columns rest on concrete around an in-
ground pool. We are wanting to plant some vines at the base of the
columns that will swirl around the columns and grow up. I thought of
getting some U-shaped planter boxes that could wrap around the columns
at the base which could then have vines planted in them. But as I have
looked into this, I dont know if it will work. (I am not an
experienced gardener.) We have an automatic sprinkler to handle the
watering, but I dont know how realistic getting sealed beds (to keep
the dirt in) of sufficient size to host vines are. The columns are
about 12" in diameter. If I had planters that are 12" wide, then I
suddenly have a column base that is over 3' wide at the base. My guess
is they would have to be about 24" deep in order to have enough dirt
to allow the vines to be healthy.

Has anyone out there ever attempted anything like this?

Thanks for any help or advice.