GLOSS. It is clear from the first half of [the Tenth Canto of] Bhāgavatam (10.42.27-31) that seeing golden trees and so on are indications of death:

kaṁsas tu dhanuṣo bhaṅgaṁ rakṣiṇāṁ sva-balasya ca
vadhaṁ niśamya govinda-rāma-vikrīḍitaṁ param
dīrgha-prajāgaro bhīto durnimittāni durmatiḥ
bahūny acaṣṭobhayathā mṛtyor dautya-karāṇi ca

Wicked King Kaṁsa, on the other hand, was terrified, having heard how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had broken the bow and killed his guards and soldiers, all simply as a game. He remained awake for a long time, and both while awake and while dreaming he saw many bad omens, messengers of death.

adarśanaṁ sva-śirasaḥ pratirūpe ca saty api
asaty api dvitīye ca dvai-rūpyaṁ jyotiṣāṁ tathā
chidra-pratītiś chāyāyāṁ prāṇa-ghoṣānupaśrutiḥ
svarṇa-pratītir vṛkṣeṣu sva-padānām adarśanam

svapne preta-pariṣvaṅgaḥ khara-yānaṁ viṣādanam
yāyān nalada-māly ekas tailābhyakto dig-ambaraḥ
anyāni cetthaṁ-bhūtāni svapna-jāgaritāni ca
paśyan maraṇa-santrasto nidrāṁ lebhe na cintayā

When he looked at his reflection he could not see his head; for no reason the moon and stars appeared double; he saw a hole in his shadow; he could not hear the sound of his life air; trees seemed covered with a golden hue; and he could not see his footprints. He dreamt that he was being embraced by ghosts, riding a donkey and drinking poison, and also that a naked man smeared with oil was passing by wearing a garland of nalada flowers. Seeing these and other such omens both while dreaming and while awake, Kaṁsa was terrified by the prospect of death, and out of anxiety he could not sleep.