Spring indicator - Swamp Cypress

One of the few decorative trees I've planted, as opposed to inherited:

It's a reliable and attractive indicator of spring and autumn, so I suppose it fits in the category of being "useful".

I first saw them around various dams in public parks in Johannesburg, and there's a magnificent example in the Company Gardens near Parlament in Cape Town.

Update 2015/10/22:

Update 2016/04/19:

The other end of the season.